What's all Gone on Before
by forevermagik13
Summary: Prequel to "All the Pieces." Snippets of the lives of Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, Zack, Rinoa, Cid, Tifa, Cloud, and a few others during the time between BBS and KH1. As they are all growing up on their respective worlds, they begin to notice an increase of darkness and Heartless. Many watch as their homes are plunged into darkness by the workings of Xehanort. Read how they fight back.
1. Cleaning up Monsters

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! To those of you have been following my stories for a while, I'm back! This here (as the description will somewhat tell you) is the prequel to my fic "All the Pieces Lie Where They Fell". It will take us through many different Final Fantasy characters' lives and how they got to be where they were come my canon Kingdom Hearts universe.

Some Disclaimers:

1. Obligatory: I do not own the majority of characters featured in this story. They are property of Square Enix and Disney. I have created a few minor characters and I will claim them, but nothing else.

2. You do not have to read "All the Pieces" to understand what is going on here. Sure, connections and references will be made, but it is not necessary. (For the record, AtP is my canon Mark of Mastery Test/destruction of Xehanort/rebuilding the worlds story. I understand fully that this it no longer KH canon, so it is simply just "my canon" now.)

3. I am not doing a day-by-day expose of everything that happened before KH1. I will be doing snippets of important character-revealing or important plot-points for the KH/FF universes. I am going to be covering nearly ten years (in between BBS and KH1) and simply cannot plot out every single second. If there is something that you would particularly like to see, PM me with a convincing argument for it. If I feel it fits into my universe, I will do my best to incorporate it.

Well, now that all that space-taking business is out of the way, onto the story!

A bit of an introduction for you, this is towards the end of/shortly after BBS. And now, onto the story.

* * *

_Radiant Garden: Squall, Age 15_

School had just let out for the day. A boy in his teens quickly hurried away from the yard, not wanting to be teased by anyone. He didn't look anything out of the ordinary. He had brown hair cut exactly to the code that school wished it to be and questioning blue eyes. Though, he never asked nearly as many questions as his eyes did. He was a quiet kid—if he could be called a kid at fifteen. It didn't matter though, somehow he was still the kid who was picked on. Thankfully today, no one bothered to joke that he didn't un-tuck his shirt or unbutton his jacket the minute the final bell rang. No one tried to swat books out of his hands. No one ruffled his hair. He escaped into the quiet.

Once he was in the town proper, no one really bothered him. Everyone knew him as the hardworking kid. He was always the first one many of the adults asked to help him clean up shop or repair things. He was good with his hands. This attributed to many of the other boys at school calling him a 'goody-two-shoes' and teasing him all the more.

Lately, though, they hadn't been saying much because they all knew about his encounters with the monsters. The little, annoying things with angry red eyes. They'd been plaguing Radiant Garden for the past several weeks. King Ansem was doing everything he could to find a way to completely eradicate them—so far, however, to no avail. Squall happened to be really good with a large hunting knife he'd bought with the money he'd earned by doing odd-jobs around town. He couldn't always kill the monsters, but he could do enough harm to them to make them go away.

He walked around the corner from the ice cream shop on his way back to the boys' home where he lived—his mother had died shortly after his birth and he'd never seen his father. He was just about ready to turn down his street when he heard shouts of frustration and a few girls' screams… then came the unmistakable angry whisper of the monsters running about.

As quick as he could, he pulled out his hunting knife and dropped his books on a nearby crate. He ran to where the sounds were coming from. He rounded another corner to find a boy with fiery-red hair and another boy with sky-blue hair fighting the monsters. The red-head was throwing discs at them. The boy with blue hair had some sort of club and was attacking them with that. The screams had no doubt come from the three girls cowering in the patch of flowers. It looked like the girl with brown hair still in her school uniform was watching over the two smaller girls—another red-head and a girl with jet-black hair.

Squall stopped analyzing for a minute so he could pay attention to the monsters. They were just the little blue and purple ones. They were quick, but Squall was getting quicker. He jumped to the aid of the other two boys. He recognized them from school, but he couldn't figure out why they weren't in school uniforms. Did they just not go today?

Then he heard the lightning.

"Ack!" the red-haired boy screamed. "I hate the Thunder-Pots!"

"Lea, you just hate lightning."

"Well, Isa, that is very true. I prefer the ones with fire better, if I do say so myself."

Isa rolled his eyes. "Pyro," he muttered.

Squall let the other two boys focus on the new enemies; his knife really was only good for the little ones.

In just a couple of minutes, all the monsters were gone. Squall had collected quite a decent amount of munny, almost more than he got when he washed Mr. Biggs' windows. The other two boys were dividing their spoils. Squall wasn't sure how to approach them, so he went over to the girls to see if they were okay instead. The redhead had sat down in the flowers and was holding a bunch of them to her chest, her blue eyes wide. The black-haired girl was clinging to the older girl, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Oh sure, kid comes to help us and then goes and flirts with the ladies," Lea said, jokingly.

Isa smirked.

The brown-haired girl bit her lip. Squall noticed she had a green ribbon in her hair.

"You've gotta give Lea a break," Isa said, jerking a thumb at his friend. "He'll flirt with any girl."

"Can't you see it's bothering her?" Squall found himself asking.

Both Lea and Isa blanched.

"You know," Lea said. "Ordinarily, I don't like being talked-back-to by younger classmen, but you did help us with those monsters, so I'll let it go. What's your name, kid?"

"Squall," Squall mumbled.

"Fun times! Name's Lea, got it memorized?" he tapped his forehead. "And this here's my friend, Isa."

"Hullo," Squall said.

"And you are?" Lea asked, looking passed Squall to the girls behind him.

"Not interested," the older one said, frowning.

"I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie!" the girl with black hair spurted out.

Isa busted out laughing. "Lea, I didn't know you were trying to pick up toddlers!"

"I'm not a toddler!" Yuffie shouted, letting go of the older girl and stomping her foot. "I'm six!"

This only made Isa laugh harder. Lea turned bright red. He turned back to Squall. "Did you, uh, get enough spoils from that?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

Squall nodded.

"Here," Lea said, handing Squall something else. Squall held it in his hand without even examining it. "That'll make it even. You're always welcome to hang out with us or something. I never forget someone who fights alongside me."

"You make it sound like you've been fighting all your life," Isa said.

Lea sighed. "Who needs enemies when I've got a friend like you?"

Isa and Lea glared at each other for three seconds before laughing.

"See you around," Lea said, waving.

He and Isa left.

"You okay?" Squall asked.

The older girl nodded. "Aerith."

"Hmm?"

"My name. It's Aerith."

Squall found himself smiling. "I thought it was 'Not Interested'."

"I was just telling that to Lea. He's such a flirt, it's disgusting."

"Some guys are like that," Squall said with a shrug.

"You're obviously not like them," Aerith replied with a shrug. "What was it he handed you? I'm curious."

Squall opened his hand to reveal a bright green shard.

"Ooh! A Soothing Crystal."

"What do those do?" Squall asked.

"You can use them to make Elixirs."

Squall blinked, wondering how this girl knew that. Then he remembered he'd seen her before.

"Your mom's the…"

"Town herbalist, yes," Aerith replied. "I help her when I'm not babysitting girls from around the town. These two are the girls I get most often. Yuffie here can only be babysat by a few people, since she's already a good pickpocket at age six." At this, Aerith rolled her eyes. "And Kairi lives with her grandmother, but I like to help, so I'll take her out during the afternoons."

"That's quite honorable," Squall said.

Aerith nodded, smiling.

"Here," Squall said, handing her the Soothing Crystal. "Your mom can use it."

"You sure you don't want it?"

"Yes," Squall said. "What am I going to do with it?"

Aerith's whole face brightened as she pocketed the crystal.

Just then, another little blue monster appeared right behind Kairi.

"Aerith!" Squall shouted. "Move the girls!"

He needn't have panicked, however. Apparently, Kairi had methods of getting rid of the monsters on her own. As soon as the monster got within a foot, a bright light burst out of Kairi and the monster disappeared. Kairi giggled.

"Bye-bye monster!" she squealed.

Squall raised an eyebrow.

"This one's special, Kairi," Aerith said, picking the girl up and balancing her on her hip. "I noticed she's got a protection charm on her. Weird thing was, I don't remember it being there a couple of weeks ago." She shrugged. "No matter. It's none of my business."

"I'm special!" Kairi sang.

"Yes you are!" Aerith sang back, poking Kairi's nose.

"You're special!" Kairi insisted, patting right over Aerith's heart.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Aerith said.

Squall got the distinct impression that she was lying.

"Hey!" Yuffie shouted. "Am _I _special?"

Aerith turned to her and smiled. "Of _course _you are!"

Yuffie grinned.

"I should go," Squall said. "I've got somewhere to be."

Aerith nodded. "Oh, of course. I didn't mean to make you late, or anything."

"Oh, I'm not late. I just need to be going, that's all."

Aerith nodded again. "Sure, sure! See you around, Squall!"

Squall nodded and ran off. He noticed as he picked up his books that some of his munny was missing. He was nearly positive Yuffie had nicked it, but he couldn't prove it. Maybe Aerith would notice it and give it back to him. If he ever saw her again. Radiant Garden may not be huge, but it wasn't tiny, either.

Rather than go back to the boys' home, he made his way over to Crazy Cid's workshop. No one really knew what to do with Crazy Cid—he was just a man with too many strange ambitions, a high tendency to swear, and a smoking problem. He liked making ships and cannons. He also had a number of sharpened spears in his front room—like he was a war veteran or something.

Squall didn't quite know what to do with Crazy Cid, either. But he and Cid had a history. Cid had been the one to find a young, crying Squall abandoned in the streets. Squall was so young he shouldn't have recollection of this first encounter; but he remembered a significantly younger Cid, stumbling upon him as he took a drag from his cigarette. Cid, at the time, hadn't known what to do with the crying kid. He took him into his own home and took care of him for a couple of days before being advised to take him to the orphanage. Since then, Cid had been known to leave Squall birthday ("finding day") presents. Working around Cid's place was the only job Squall had that didn't pay him money. He couldn't complain though, to some extent, he felt he owed Cid, though Cid would never say he did.

Cid swore that Squall's dad was a war hero, and just never came home—maybe he died in battle. Squall honestly couldn't care. Sure, if his dad died in a war somewhere, he guessed it was a legitimate reason as to why he never came home. But, his father had left a pregnant woman behind. It was doubtful even if his father _was _alive, he'd know he had a son to come back to. Squall was over it by now.

The other thing Squall couldn't quite piece together was _if _his father was a war hero, then _where _was he a war hero at? Radiant Garden had not been in any wars during Squall's lifetime. That would mean that his father was a mercenary of sorts, going off to fight other peoples' wars. Something not entirely unheard of these days, but still.

The lack of Squall's actual father made Cid the only father-figure he had. Now that Squall was into his teen years, this seemed to be putting a strain on both men. Cid wasn't sure how to parent a teenager any better than he could parent a small child—hence the orphanage and the boys' home. Squall wasn't sure how to respond to a father authoritative figure.

However, as soon as Squall turned sixteen, he wouldn't be allowed to stay in the boys' home anymore. His only option was to either find a lodging of his own, or move in with Cid. Finances would lend way to moving in with Cid. Neither man knew how to cope with that.

"Hullo, Cid," Squall said, dropping his books on the table just inside the door. The spears tacked up to the wall shuddered as he slammed the door.

Cid was working on one of his cannons. Judging by the lack of smoke and cinders in the air, Squall could bet it had been awhile since an unplanned explosion. That was a good thing.

"What brings yeh here, kid?" Cid asked, chewing a piece of straw—something that he did when he was working on cannons, since cigarettes were the number one reason why he had misfires.

Squall shrugged. "Just felt like coming and seeing you. Anything I can help out with?"

Cid shook his head. "Help yourself to some tea. I made some iced stuff fresh."

Squall nodded and went to the cooler.

"How's school?" Cid asked.

"Fine."

"Do any extra-cirruculars?" Cid asked.

Squall shook his head. "Just work and stuff. I've been cleaning up monsters lately, it seems."

"Which ones?"

"The little ones on the ground."

"Oh. Them's Floods."

"Floods?" Squall asked, curious about this sort of thing.

Cid nodded.

"Cool," Squall said, pouring two glasses of tea. He brought one to Cid. Cid liked tea.


	2. Long Trip

**Author's Note: **hello, everyone again! I don't know about you, but it's been a busy week for me. Between work and babysitting and a load of other things... goodness! (And it did NOT help that I had a nasty case of writer's block smack dab in the middle of that, ugh!) Anyway, I have another chapter for you!

I won't give too much of an introduction for you, it pretty much speaks for itself. I'll go more in-depth on my blog. That is also where I answer reviews-that way everyone can read my response to any single review! The link for my blog is in my profile. (The blogger one, not the tumblr one.)

Oh, this happens roughly at the same time as the last chapter.

* * *

_Deling City: Rinoa, Age 15_

"Father!" Rinoa pleaded, waving a stack of papers noisily. "Would you _please _tell me the meaning of this?"

General Caraway rubbed his temples and looked up from his desk.

"I cannot tell you what the meaning of 'this' is, if I do not know what it is you are referring to."

"You're trying to send me to a boarding school?" Her voice was almost a shriek.

"Yes, Rinoa, I am," her father said, instantly knowing the topic of the papers she held.

"Why?" she asked tersely.

"You're unruly and disrespectful. I am only doing what I think is best for you. A young lady of your age and social standing should know when to…"

"Father!" Rinoa interrupted. "I don't _want _to dress up pretty and go to all of the military balls in an attempt to further _your _military career! I _want _to go to the Garden and learn how to fight my own way."

Rinoa knew better than to insult the military in front of her father. He still believed the military was the greatest thing to happen to this world. Rinoa would rather believe otherwise. The mercenaries trained in the Gardens, however, were much more equipped to deal with the abundance of monsters that had been showing up recently.

"You will not learn to fight like that."

"You're trying to keep me from becoming independent!"

"That is not the purpose of Citadel," General Caraway said sternly. "Citadel's purpose is to train young girls…"

"Into becoming accomplished women," Rinoa finished, interrupting her father yet again. "I know. I read the pamphlet."

"If you read the pamphlet, how are you still in disagreement with me on this matter?" her father asked.

"Because _I _don't want to go to a girl's school," Rinoa spat.

"If you are going to make this about boys, young lady…"

"I'm not. I'm making it about _people_. Girls' schools—or boys' schools, for that matter—don't teach as effectively as co-ed schools."

"Rubbish," her father snorted. "You are going to Citadel and you are going to forget about going to any of the Gardens. I am not going to have my daughter fighting alongside a bunch of half-baked mercenaries. If you want to learn to fight that badly, wait until you are eighteen and join the military."

"Like you? Never!"

"Rinoa Caraway, you will listen to what I am telling you," her father yelled. "We are not discussing this right now!"

Rinoa glared back up at her father, shaking her head. "I cannot believe mom ever settled for _you_," she spat. "You are a despicable man. She should have waited for her mercenary to come back to her."

"You are not bringing this up again," her father snouted. "I cannot understand why you are so hung-up on your mother's fairy-tales. She's been dead for ten years!"

"If she were around, you wouldn't be like this," Rinoa spat.

"If she had waited for her precious _mercenary_, you wouldn't _exist_!"

"Better that than being related to _you_!"

Tears were forming at the corners of Rinoa's eyes now. She internally cursed that her angry emotions always led to tears. It made her arguments so much less convincing.

"We are _done_, here, young lady. This is _exactly _what I was talking about. You are going to Citadel and that is _final_. If you are _lucky_, I will allow you to join the military in a few years. That is, if Citadel doesn't completely _break_ you. You are _never _to mention your mother again in my presence. I do not wish to hear of her _again_. Nor do I wish to hear about that blasted _mercenary_ that you think she should have married in place of me. That is disrespectful and uncalled for, young lady. Now, go upstairs, like a good military daughter and…"

Rinoa shook her head, tears flowing freely. "Never," she said, forcing her voice to be strong. "I will _never _be like you. So stop, just _stop_."

Her father stopped. He froze entirely. Rinoa's eyes widened in shock. She walked up to him and touched his shoulder. He did not react.

Magic. She had just used magic.

She fled the room, her mind racing.

Magic: pure, raw magic, what she had just used, was a terrifying subject. Only Sorceresses could use magic without ever learning the spell prior or otherwise junctioning it to a weapon. Sorceresses were also despised and hated _because _they could use magic in its primal form. Rinoa had never touched a magic book in her life. She hadn't really thought about it, she was too busy trying to convince her father to let her become part of SeeD.

SeeD wouldn't take her now. They would find out what she could do and they would lock her up. She had to run. She had to run and never come back.

She knew there were other worlds, but she had no idea how to get to them. Her mother's true lover had disappeared off onto another world—that was why he never came back for her. Not that it mattered anyway, Julia Heartily had died when Rinoa was only five. If the mysterious mercenary ever did come looking for his beloved, he would find only her grave.

Rinoa decided that the first thing she was going to do was change her name to Heartily instead of Caraway. She would be able to disappear faster that way, most likely. She needed to not be found. She would keep the name Rinoa, however. Her mother had taken pride in that name and she wanted to stay true to her mother.

Her mother would know what to do if she found out her daughter was a Sorceress. She wouldn't care; she'd still love her too.

But her mother was gone now, and there was no getting her back.

She rushed into her room and began throwing things into her bag. Clothes, shoes, all of the munny she had. Her recently bought puppy, Angelo looked up at her.

"Hey, girl! We're going on an adventure!"

Angelo perked up and cocked her head to one side. Rinoa nodded and repeated the word 'adventure.' Angelo stood up lazily and stretched. Rinoa spun about her room, trying to make sure she had everything. She had to go somewhere, that was all she knew.

"Come on, Angelo," Rinoa said, patting her leg to get Angelo to follow her. "Let's go!"

Angelo hopped off the bed and started to follow Rinoa. Just as Rinoa was closing her bedroom door, someone rang the doorbell for the front. She had to answer it, the only other person in the house besides her father was the cook—who was mostly deaf. She had no idea how long her father was going to be Stopped. She threw her bag on her back and tried to make it look casual, then she ran downstairs to get the door.

She was startled to find a woman in a SeeD uniform on the other side. She had blonde hair and glasses and was hardly older than Rinoa herself. Rinoa blanched, normally, people didn't become fully-fledged SeeDs until they were at least 17 or 18.

"My name is Quistis Trepe, SeeD from Balamb Garden, and I am here in regards to the application Rinoa Caraway submitted to become a SeeD last month?"

"Oh, that would be me," Rinoa replied, flushing. "I really must cancel my application. You guys don't really want me, anyway."

"Nonsense," Quistis said, looking over her glasses at Rinoa. The two of them were almost equal in height, but Rinoa was a _tad _shorter. "Is this because you claim to have no physical abilities? Because we can train you in several different weaponry areas until you find the one that fits you best."

"I just, I really can't at the moment. I have something else I need to do."

_Run_. Her mind was telling her. _Just run_.

Quistis's forehead crinkled. "I really don't understand why the sudden change in attitude. You sounded like you really wanted to train as a cadet in your application."

"I did, when I submitted it. But then things changed. I'm really sorry you came all the way out here and I'm turning you down. Trust me when I tell you, you don't want me."

Quistis blinked, still confused.

"And, actually, I need to go. Super sorry!"

Rinoa squeezed her way past Quistis and out onto the street. She started walking hurriedly away.

"We keep your application on file for a year," Quistis called after her. "If you change your mind again, you know where the Garden is."

"Yes!" Rinoa replied. "Yes I do! Oh! _If _I do end up changing my mind again, it's Heartily, not Caraway. The legal name-change hasn't quite gone through yet."

Quistis nodded and pulled out a pen and paper to take note of that, not even questioning the circumstances surrounding Rinoa's soon-to-be name-change. By the time Quistis looked up again, Rinoa was out of sight around the corner.

"Come on, Angelo," Rinoa said again. "Come on, girl, you've gotta keep up! I can't carry you this whole way."

Angelo started walking a tad faster. Satisfied with this improvement, Rinoa started towards the edge of the city. She needed to get out of Deling City, that was for sure. Maybe if she made her way to the little town of Timber, she'd be able to go relatively unnoticed by anyone who was scouting for Sorceresses.

She didn't even want to think about that at the moment. Rather, her mind strayed to why it was that Quistis, a SeeD from _Balamb _was all the way up in Deling City? Sure, all SeeD's ended up at Balamb eventually, but to _start _there?

"Perhaps they wanted me that bad," Rinoa mused wistfully.

It didn't matter. The minute she started using any form of magic, they'd be able to tell that she was more than just the average person. They would figure it out and they would lock her up in an attempt to keep her magic from harming anyone, like magic had done during the Sorceress War.

There was a reason why magic-usage was so strict and had so many formalities. People were scared of it, even white magic.

Rinoa sighed and looked down at her hands. What had she done? What was she capable of? She had Stopped her father in time. There was no telling when he'd get out of it.

If he got out of it.

He _would _get out of it. It took more than an unintentional Stop spell to keep a person frozen forever. She may have just let out a burst of primal magic, but there was no way a unguided burst would have very permanent affects.

She would have to write him, eventually. She would write him when she was very far away, after she'd changed her last name officially, after she was safe and was sure other people were safe. She would have to suppress her magic, no one would be able to find out about it. She would find some other weapon to use, one that would junction magic, but no one would notice if she didn't junction anything in particular for a while. She would teach Angelo to fight. She could fight _with _Angelo. Now there was a thought! Use Angelo as her own, personal Guardian Force. The thought was pleasant and comforting.

Maybe, if she was lucky, she would get enough of a handle on her magic in the next couple of years in order to go back to Balamb Garden and Quistis and SeeD training. She had several more years before they told her she was too old to train.

If she was luckier, however, she would find a way off this world. She would go out and see the stars, like she knew was possible. There just _had _to be a world that wasn't afraid of magic. There had to be. If she got good enough at fighting, she'd become a mercenary in her own right, outside of SeeD. She would be the free-spirited girl that her mother had always hoped she would be and her father always suppressed.

"Angelo," she murmured. "I have so much on my mind. What am I supposed to _do_?"

Angelo looked up at her, but didn't respond. Rinoa didn't expect her too. Angelo was a dog after all. Dogs couldn't talk to humans; though there was some speculation about dogs at least being able to _understand _humans. And, as far as Rinoa could tell, her new magical powers did not include being able to talk to animals.

She stopped at a little shop towards the outskirts of Deling City. She bought herself a sandwich and a few pieces of meat for Angelo.

That was another thing she was going to have to do, find a source of income. She only had so much munny and she needed to support both herself and Angelo.

She'd heard something about monsters dropping munny when they were defeated. So maybe she'd just learn to fight for the purpose of getting munny that way. It was simple enough.

Except for the part where she had no knowledge of any weapon. She sighed, wishing she could just run back to wherever it was Quistis was and say that she really _did _want to become a SeeD after all, that she was only having a little panic-attack about accidentally freezing her father in time and space…

Her thought stopped right there. She had frozen her father in time and space. Either he was going to unfreeze and wonder where she had disappeared off to, _know _she had frozen him, or someone _else _was going to find him and wonder what the heck happened.

Any way she looked at it, the outcome for her wasn't pretty. She was best off in a state of exile, where she taught herself things, away from most human contact. At least until she got her magic under control, that is. However long that would take.

She wished she knew of a person who didn't care about magic usage who could teach her, but no such person existed on this world—bringing her back to needing to get off this world for that sort of thing.

"Ugh," she said, running a hand through her hair. "Oh, Angelo, it's going to be a long trip, isn't it girl?"

Angelo whined sympathetically. At least, Rinoa told herself it was sympathetically.


	3. The Many Sides of Quistis

**Author's Note: **Update time! Nothing much to say about this particular chapter, except that it happens right after the previous chapter, as you'll soon find out. On a completely different note, I know that during this time period that I'm writing, a slightly edited version of Final Fantasy VIII happens (edited mostly because Squall is not a SeeD). I was wondering if you guys had any opinions for how much of that I should write? Should I go into great detail, or just give snippets, like I've been already doing? I just want to hear your thoughts on this.

Anyway, onto the chapter! Check out my blog for review responses and more background information!

* * *

_Deling City: Quistis, Age 16_

Quistis watched Rinoa make her way away from the house and out onto the street, a dog following at her heels. She frowned. Something was amiss. What could have made Rinoa change her mind like that?

Still frowning, Quistis turned to head back to the car to return to Balamb. Then she heard screaming from inside the Caraway house. The door was still open, so Quistis only thought a little about intruding. Given all the monsters floating around nowadays, Quistis didn't want someone to get hurt when she could have prevented it. She stepped inside, drawing her nun chucks out from her belt. She followed the source of the screaming to an office of sorts. What she found there was not a monster, but a cook (who was the person screaming) and a frozen General Caraway. He wasn't just frozen, he was Stopped.

It didn't take long for Quistis to put two-and-two together. Rinoa had Stopped her father and then ran. Quistis wasn't sure how the girl had managed to cast magic. She also wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed to be Stopped for so long. Usually, the spell did not last more than fifteen seconds. He had to have been frozen for more than a couple minutes. She would figure both of those questions out later. For now, she needed to take care of this. She pulled out an Esuna and used it on the general.

"…I will _not…_" he began, then he realized something had changed. He glared at Quistis. "Where is my daughter?" he roared.

"Presently? I am not sure," Quistis said. "I came in her to see what all the fuss was about. You appeared to have been Stopped, and I remedied the issue."

"Who let you into the house?"

Quistis was beginning to see another reason why Rinoa might have been running.

"The door was open and I heard screaming. It is one of my duties to aid people in need. There are warnings posted all over the city regarding un-named monsters…"

"I don't care about your stinking monsters that keep you poor-excuses for soldiers in business!"

Quistis clicked the heels of her boots together and stood up straighter. Unfortunately, she was still a head shorter than the general. She hoped she could appear imposing enough. She didn't become a fully-fledged SeeD cadet at age 15 for nothing.

Sadly, the general wasn't impressed.

"Where is my daughter?!" he repeated. "That little brat is a Sorceress! She cast magic! Unless _you" _he turned on Quistis "people recruited her without my knowledge and gave her one of those fancy Guardians of magic or whatever they're called."

"Guardian Forces, sir," Quistis replied calmly. "They're called Guardian Forces."

Quistis had one Junctioned currently. His name was Quezacotl. She'd nicknamed him "Ketzy."

"Whatever," General Caraway spat. "Did you people recruit her?"

Quistis thought about how to best proceed with her answer. On one hand, Quistis was well aware that Rinoa was not actually being trained at any of the Gardens yet and thus could not have achieved a rank in which she could have received a Guardian Force. On the other hand, since Rinoa did _not _have a Guardian Force, she _must _be a Sorceress and there were bigger problems. Based on how General Caraway was acting, if he knew that his daughter might be a Sorceress, there were bigger problems still.

Quistis made the split-decision to stretch the truth—a lot.

"Yes, we did recruit her," Quistis said. Not a lie. "We will also get to the bottom of why she felt it appropriate to use para-magic on you." Possibly a lie. SeeD probably won't track down Rinoa, and it certainly wasn't para-magic that she had used.

"She's my daughter and I reserve the right to pun—"

Quistis cut him off. "As SeeD, it is our responsibility to follow this one. Magic and para-magic are our specialties. I suggest you just calm down and let us handle this."

"You SeeD's don't know how to do anything…"

"Sir, if you are going to continue to insult my line of work, I'm going to have to talk to your superiors and inform them of your conduct. While it is clear you do not respect SeeD, your superiors will agree with me that the services SeeD and the Gardens offer are a benefit to society."

"You have no authority to do that! You can't talk to my superiors."

"Fine. You are correct. I may not be able to, but Headmaster Martine will."

General Caraway frowned. His demeanor quieted. Quistis knew she had him. Galbadia Garden worked very closely with the Galbadia military. Galbadia Garden didn't train SeeD's though, only Balamb Garden did that. However, Headmaster Martine of Galbadia Garden would not be pleased to learn that one of their most respected Generals was insulting a very helpful organization that a sister Garden was supporting.

"I believe our business is done here," Quistis said. "I, personally, will see to it that your daughter is found. Whether or not she returns here is not my call, however, but hers."

"She is fifteen! She is still a child."

Quistis shook her head. "She is fifteen, and thus has enough autonomy to refuse to return to you. Like I said, that is _her _call. I will notify you when I find her."

Before the general could say anything else, Quistis turned, nodded at the petrified cook, and left the house.

xx

Quistis slid into the backseat of the car and informed the driver to head back to Balamb.

Zell, a SeeD in training, turned to look at Quistis.

"Didn't our new recruit just run that way?" he asked, jerking his thumb behind them.

"Did she?" Quistis asked, mildly intrigued.

"Yeah! What happened?"

"Something came up," Quistis responded. "She had to cancel her application."

"Aw, sad day," Zell replied, bummed. "I was looking forward to another lady around."

Quistis gave him a disapproving look.

"What?!" he asked, shrugging. "I like the ladies!"

Quistis rolled her eyes. Boys. At this rate, Zell would be 19 before he became a full SeeD. He seriously needed to start maturing.

Quistis' thoughts strayed to Rinoa again. Unless she'd somehow managed to acquire a Guardian Force outside of SeeD, the girl was likely a Sorceress incarnate. Part of Quistis wanted to go after what was probably a very afraid teenager, but the rest of her knew an action like that was unwise. Assuming she was a Sorceress (and Quistis would have to assume that until otherwise, because that was the most dangerous option), Quistis was not trained to deal with her, especially if she was not in control of her powers, or potentially possessed. Balamb Garden had people specifically trained for this purpose after the Sorceress War happened.

Quistis massaged her forehead. Then there was the general to deal with. Though, technically, Quistis wouldn't have to deal with _him_.

That would be Headmaster Cid's job. As soon as they got back to the school, she would need to talk to him.

"What's up?" Zell asked.

"Training question for you, Zell," Quistis said.

Zell rolled his eyes. "Oh boy."

"What are you supposed to do when you encounter a Sorceress?"

"Are we assuming I'm a SeeD or no?"

"Say if you saw one today."

"Oh, well, then I wouldn't be able to take her on by myself. I'd have to go notify the SeeD's trained to…"

"You only need to talk to one person."

"Oh. Headmaster Cid!"

"Correct."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Why ask that, Quistis? I mean, it seems sort of random…"

"Hypothetical scenario. You must be able to think on your feet at all times."

"Right."

"Zell, when we get back to the Garden, I want you to do a couple of training levels, okay?"

Zell sighed.

"You want to become a SeeD, don't you?"

Zell nodded. "Yeah, like my grandfather."

Quistis gave a curt nod. "Two training levels. Do the appropriate paperwork following them and give them to any of your instructors."

"It would just be so much easier if you were an instructor."

"No one becomes an instructor at 16," Quistis replied, smiling shyly.

"Wouldn't be surprised if you did."

"Thanks, Zell. I appreciate it."

"Well, you sure tell me what to do a lot."

"Well, you certainly want to become a SeeD. I'm just trying to push you to do well."

"What, and be like you?"

Quistis shook her head. "No. Definitely not. I just want you to do your best."

Zell shrugged and rolled his eyes.

Quistis did her best not to sigh and tried to think about anything besides the current Sorceress issue.

xx

Quistis knocked on the door to Headmaster Cid's office.

"Come in!"

She took a deep breath and walked in.

"Ah! Quistis! What brings you to my office, today?"

"Sir, I think we have a Sorceress running about."

Headmaster Cid frowned. "Who?"

"The new recruit I was sent to go see, Rinoa Ca—Heartily."

Headmaster Cid paled.

"I just barely managed to catch her," Quistis stammered. "She was in a hurry to leave. She cancelled her application and literally ran out of the house. I heard screaming and ended up going _in _the house because she'd left the door opens. Turns out, she'd Stopped her father."

"Stopped as in…"

"Magic, sir. Likely not para-magic, unless she managed to get a Guardian Force."

Headmaster Cid shook his head.

"Right," Quistis said. "So that means Sorceress."

Headmaster Cid swallowed. "Even that seems unlikely. The only Sorceress…" He licked his lips nervously. "Right, I will need to get in contact with some people."

"Do you need me to do anything?"

Headmaster Cid shook his head. "No, no, I can handle this. I just need to contact the President of Esthar and…"

"Sir, I think someone should send a letter to General Caraway."

"Who?"

"General Caraway of the Galbadian army. He's Rinoa's father."

Headmaster Cid's eyes widened. "Right. I will send letter out. What did you tell him about his daughter's outburst of…magic?"

"I told him that we had recruited her and had given her a Guardian Force. It seemed the best option, given how angry he was. I didn't want him suspecting his daughter was a Sorceress, he might try to deal with her himself, and I saw no peaceful end to that. He is a very angry man, or at least, he was when I was speaking to him."

"In his defense, he had been Stopped."

"Oh, I am aware. It's just, something seemed off about him."

Headmaster Cid sighed. "Right. I will take care of that, too."

"Are you sure there isn't anything…?"

"No, Quistis, that will be all. Go take the evening off or something. You do too much."

Quistis raised her eyebrows, but did not argue. She bade the headmaster a good evening and left his office.

She wasn't quite sure what to do with herself now. She supposed she could read some more books about how to become an instructor. She was hoping to become one before she turned 20. She still had a few years. Either that, or she could maybe go to one of the places where the Triple Triad players liked to hang out and play. She was getting good at Triple Triad. She just had to make sure Zell didn't find out. He'd never let her forget it. Not that there was anything wrong with Triple Triad, just… Quistis was not the type of person who "seemed" to be a Triad player. Which may be why she'd been able to beat Dr. Kadowaki a couple years ago…

"Oh look, it's goody-goody Quisty, ya know!"

"Shut up, Raijin," Quistis growled.

"You're not an authority, ya know!"

"No, really?" Quistis said, knowing her sarcasm would be lost on him.

"Leave her alone, Rai," said his friend, Fujin.  
Quistis knew better than to thank her. Fujin only did what was beneficial to her.

Fujin still kicked Raijin in the shins. "You know messing with Quistis will only get you in trouble with everyone else. Sometimes, it's not worth it to pick on the teachers' pet!"

Quistis sighed. Of course.

Raijin started to argue with Fujin, though Quistis wasn't sure why, it wasn't like he was particularly witty. She slipped away before either bully noticed.


	4. On My Honor

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! Been a while! I'm probably going to start posting more often, because I got a lot more written than I initially intended to. (Funny story, trying to write this whole thing between now and November... but yeah!) Anyway. Latest chapter! Check the blogs for review replies! (I'm really a fan of making all the responses public and that seems to be the best way to do it.)

This chapter happens relatively concurrently with the last three. To be more specific, the others certainly still happen within the last little bit of BBS. This is definitely happening at the time of the secret ending of BBS.

* * *

_Olympus Coliseum: Zack, Age 14_

A boy with a sword slung across his back made his way to the giant coliseum. He had a helmet that covered most of his face, only his bright blue eyes shown through. The helmet also allowed the smallest glint of a grin to show through. He walked confidently and didn't seem to care what anyone around him seemed to think.

He walked through the different parts of the coliseum, seemingly knowing where he was going already. No one paid him any attention.

He walked into a giant arena that was empty, save for a red-headed kid and a ton of vases and crates.

"How goes Hero training, Herc?" the boy asked. He took his helmet off, revealing dark spikey hair that seemed impossible given the helmet he'd just removed.

The red-headed boy looked at the newcomer and smiled. He set down a crate that was easily twice his size and leaned against it casually.

"Oh, pretty good. If I keep up at this rate, it shouldn't be too long before I achieve godhood again!"

"Godhood?" Zack asked, intrigued.

"Yeah," Hercules responded wistfully. "My dad's Zeus, but Hades kidnapped me when I was a kid and sapped all my godly powers, save for my strength."

As if to prove a point, he picked up the crate he'd been holding previously and stacked it on top of another crate. He hardly looked strained by the action.

Zack looked impressed. "Wow, dude. No wonder Phil training you was so important to you! And to think I almost stole that right out from under you!"  
Hercules shook his head. "Phil wouldn't have stopped training me. He told me himself. He used the opportunity you presented to teach me that I couldn't take him for granted."

Zack frowned, bummed. "Phil never was going to train me, was he?"

Hercules shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe he would have trained us both."

"Yeah, maybe. I don't think I'm going to stay around here for much longer anyway. I can feel adventure calling."

"Really? Where?"

Zack shrugged. "I don't know yet. What I do know, is that I can't really go home until I'm a hero of sorts. My hometown is full of war heroes, and if I want to be respected, I've gotta achieve their ranks."

Hercules snorted. "And you were worried about taking Phil training me away. You need the hero training just as bad as I do! We're in the same boat, we can't go home until we're heroes."

Zack shrugged. "I think I can find my training somewhere else. You let Phil train you and don't worry about me. If I keep looking, I'll find something."

"Well," Hercules said, walking up to Zack. "Good luck. Wherever you go."

"Thanks!" Zack said. "You too! I hope you achieve your godhood again."

Hercules smiled. "I hope you become a war hero."

Zack shrugged. "I dunno if I want to fight in any wars. I'd be fine with just a hero."

Both boys laughed.

"Well, I better get back to this," Hercules said, jerking his thumb back at all the crates and vases.

"What are you doing with those, anyway?"

"Moving them around. Phil said it was for training."

Zack raised his eyebrows. "Looks like… fun…"

Hercules shrugged. "Training's training, I guess."

Again, the boys laughed. Zack saluted and Hercules nodded. Then Zack made his way back out of the coliseum, plunking his helmet back on his head.

xx

Zack wandered through the town, wondering how he was going to go after the adventure he knew was waiting for him. He needed to find a more consistent means of travelling to do that, though. He'd walked himself out of Gongaga, but it was that mysterious black feather that came out of nowhere that had taken him to that one place with the flying children. He'd hardly done anything there when he fell asleep one night to wake up in the castle with all the sleeping people. He'd been super glad to find another one of the feathers. That one had taken him here. He'd been here longer than he'd been any other place, but he was running out of things to do. All the excitement seemed to be dying down and he wanted to go somewhere where exciting things still happened. He wished he had one of those swords shaped like keys that those other travelers'd had. One of those would be really useful right about now. Not that he disliked his sword or anything…

He heard a scream and felt a rush of adrenaline. Someone needed help! He ran to the sound eagerly. Even if it was just those little monsters with the red eyes, that'd be something.

Sure enough, it was the little buggers. The pastel ones that had attacked the coliseum just a couple days ago. Well, not the same ones, since Zack had personally killed a lot of those with that one traveler, Ven. However, these buggers were of the same type. He started slashing away with his sword, trying to see if he could find who it was that screamed.

A couple minutes and many dead monsters later, Zack found the girl. She was probably about the same age as he was. She wore a purple dress and had auburn hair. One of the big buggers with annoying claws was trying to kidnap her, it seemed. She struggled against him, trying to pull herself free, but it still held on.

"Hang on, I'll rescue you!" Zack said.

She groaned. "No, I've got a handle on this. Usually, if I just kick these brutes in the right… spot…"

She aimed a good kick at the monster's gut, but it didn't seem to do anything.

"You sure you don't want my help?" Zack asked, scratching his head.

"Move along, kiddo," she said.

"Hey! I'm not a kiddo! And you're the one who screamed."

"You'd scream too if you suddenly weren't standing on the ground anymore," she said, still struggling to get away. "I can handle this, trust me."

"I think you might be in over your head a little."

"Oh, loverboy, just move along. I can do this."

"Loverboy?" Zack asked, confused.

"Well, sure. You want to rescue me because I'm a damsel in distress and you could become a hero."

"Well, sure, I want to become a hero, but I don't necessarily need to rescue _you _to become one."

"Good. Then don't. Go find hero-dom elsewhere."

"I can't in good conscious leave you here alone!"

Before she could argue any more, he ran up to the monster and killed it with one blow.

"Hey! I said not to help!" she shrieked.

"Yeah, well," Zack said, taking out a couple more of the little blue ones as they appeared. "I couldn't leave you alone to take on all of those monsters."

"Is this because I'm a girl?"

Zack thought about this for a moment. "No, actually. It's because you didn't have a weapon."

"Some people fight with their hands, you know!"

"Granted. But you weren't getting anywhere with that monster that was holding you."

She scowled, but seemed to understand where he was coming from. "Well, don't expect me to repay you," she said.

Zack shrugged. "Fine, okay. I won't even say you owe me a date and we're even."

She rolled her eyes, clearly disgusted. "Go play hero somewhere else."

Zack sighed, exasperated. She was more trouble than she was worth. He started to walk away. He could go find fame elsewhere.

"Thank you," he heard her say. But when he turned to respond, she was gone.

This only further exasperated Zack. Maybe he should just go back to the coliseum and ask if Phil would train him while he waited to find another one of those black feathers. Hercules said Phil might. Zack groaned and shook his head. But this seemed like it would be the best option.

Sullen, Zack went _back _to the coliseum. If he couldn't analyze a situation correctly and rescued people who didn't want—or _need—_to be rescued, he'd be in a lot more trouble than he'd been in today. At least the girl hadn't been totally mad at him. Just mostly.

He went up to the arena and saw that Hercules was training one-on-one with Phil. He leaned up against the entryway and figured he'd wait for them to get to a stopping point. He didn't want to interrupt.

As he watched the two of them, a black feather drifted down from the sky. He looked at it, surprised that one would show up now. Happy though, he reached out and grabbed it.

xx

He arrived someplace incredibly hot. Blisteringly hot, actually. He pulled his helmet off his head and carried it in his arms to maybe keep his face from melting. Now it would just fry instead. Lovely.

Why was he _here_? Granted, why did he end up any of the places he ended up? Alongside figuring out a more reliable means of transportation, he should probably figure out where these black feathers were coming from and what was responsible for making them come to him. He wanted purpose because heroes had purpose. Hercules had a purpose; Aqua, Terra, and Ven all had a purpose; heck, that one girl in the purple dress had purpose probably.

Zack needed purpose.

He was obviously in a desert now. Maybe he'd find his purpose here. Maybe not. He made his way to the town in front of him. Moving was a bit slow because he had to squint. He wasn't sure if he was squinting more because of the sand, or because of the sun. He frowned. Again, why _here _of all places?

Things in the town were much better. There was less wind, which meant there was less sand. The sun was still pretty bad though. Many of the townsfolk had head coverings that might help against the sun. They were probably much more effective than Zack's helmet, which would only be effective for frying eggs or something. He'd need to buy some clothes to fit in here better. New clothes would definitely be more suited to this different environment. Less obnoxious, too. Zack's current pair of pants were bright blue. The only other pair he had in his pack were black. That pair wouldn't blend in any better. Everyone here wore brown.

Oh, speaking of frying eggs, Zack was hungry. He found his way to the market and browsed the various stalls. The fruit one jumped out at him. All this heat made the juicy apples and watermelon look really good.

"How much for an apple?" he asked the merchant.

"150 munny."

"Sheesh, that's expensive."

"Too expensive? Don't buy!" the merchant growled.

Zack frowned and rummaged in his pocket. He had enough for an apple. But, if food was always going to be this expensive, he'd need to double his monster-killing duties to keep up with it. Assuming there were monsters here. Oh, there were probably monsters here. There were monsters everywhere.

As Zack was counting out the 150 munny, something out of his peripheral vision got his attention. A small boy, no more than six or seven, was trying to nick one of the small watermelons. Zack was about to mention this to the merchant when he got a better look at the kid. He was scrawny, wearing a pair of beat up trousers and no shirt. He was really skinny. He probably needed the food. Right. As much as Zack hated stealing, he knew that this boy couldn't afford what he was taking.

"Better make that half a dozen apples," he said to keep the merchant distracted.

"First you complain about price, then you buy more…" the merchant grumbled.

Zack shrugged and forked over the 900 munny. He made sure the merchant was busy with gathering the appropriate amount of apples while the kid grabbed a watermelon and ran off.

Unfortunately, the merchant saw the kid at the last second.

"Thief!" he shouted.

"I'll get him," Zack said. He pulled a handful of munny out of his pocket and put it on the counter, hoping it was enough to cover the watermelon. He ran off after the kid.

It didn't take very long to catch up with him, actually. The watermelon was slowing the kid down.

"Don't hurt me!" he said, holding the watermelon out as if to protect himself. "I'm just so hungry!"

"I'm not going to hurt you," Zack said. "I actually want to help."

The kid sniffled. "How are you going to do that?"

Zack pulled out his helmet. "How much munny do you think you could get for this?"

The kid's eyes widened. "I know a place where we might be able to get 7000 maybe, if I'm lucky. But no one's going to believe it's mine to sell."

"Easily solved," Zack said, grinning. "You point the place out to me, I'll barter this off and give you 6000."

"What about the other 1000?" the kid asked, frowning.

"Well, I gotta buy myself some food."

"Okay," the kid replied, still frowning. "How do I know you're not tricking me?"

"On my honor," Zack said, holding his hand over his heart. "I promise I am not tricking you!"

The kid was still a little skeptical, but otherwise seemed satisfied.

"Follow me, I know the place. My name's Aladdin. What's yours?"

"Zack."


	5. Itching for Something to Happen

**Author's Note: **So, this is a "snippet of snippets" chapter. Rather than have one longer snippet, I've got four shorter ones. This serves a couple of purposes. First, it covers moments as opposed to sequences. I'm catching snapshots of lives, which don't need a whole chapter to themselves to get the point across. Second, I can do several of these in one chapter and cover a lot of ground for a lot of different people. They all happen roughly at the same time but a little bit after all the previous chapters. You'll see both some new and some familiar faces in this chapter. I'm excited about it. Enjoy!

* * *

_Nibelheim: Cloud, Age 12_

A blond-haired boy sat on a rock just outside of the town. He absentmindedly drew in the dirt below him with a stick. He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to go on an adventure of sorts, just to get away…

A dark-haired girl picked her way across the underbrush to where he was sitting.

"Your dad says you're not supposed to see me," the boy said gruffly.

"The fact that he still holds you responsible for that after three years is ridiculous," she replied. "It was just a concussion and a broken arm. Oh, and the sprained ankle."

The boy rolled his eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry about what they said back there. They had no right."

"Your friends all think I'm weird. I don't belong."

"Cloud! That's not true! They just, they don't know how to respond to you…"

"What, because my dad's dead? Because that's not news. Besides, everyone treats you just fine with your mom dead."

The girl, Tifa, sighed. She sat down on the rock next to Cloud.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"About leaving."

"Leaving? To where?"

Cloud shrugged. "Anywhere but here. Find a good friend to adventure with."

Tifa started to respond, but stopped. Part of her was saddened by the fact that Cloud did not consider her a friend, but she couldn't really say that they _were _particularly friendly. Cloud was just always so… mopey. Tifa tried to understand where he was coming from, but most of the time, she failed. Also, it didn't help that most of her friends didn't like him for whatever reason.

Another part of her really wanted to be his adventuring buddy, but Cloud didn't think of her like that. In fact, Tifa hardly considered herself the adventuring type. She was perfectly content in Nibelheim. But if Cloud wasn't content… If Cloud left…

She would think about that if and when that happened.

"Cloud, I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

"For… whatever it is that's bothering you."

"It's not your fault."

"I still feel bad."

He didn't say anything. He just continued drawing on the ground. It was a rough drawing of himself holding a giant sword.

"Draw some monsters," Tifa suggested.

"Hm?"

"Well, if you're going to draw yourself with that big of a sword, put some monsters into it!" Tifa picked up a stick of her own and added some monsters for drawing-Cloud to fight.

She thought she detected a hint of a smile on his face as she did this. However, it was gone before she got a good enough look. She told herself that it was actually a smile and continued making monsters.

Cloud let her add to his drawing. It fed the monster inside of him that was begging for adventure. If he ever did leave, he would become a great soldier and fight off monsters. Yeah. That's what he'd do.

xx

_Radiant Garden: Isa, Age 17_

"Ditching again, eh Isa?" came the unmistakable voice of his friend, Lea.

"Bored," Isa replied simply.

"You're always bored."

"You're no better."

"True, but I've basically got all that school stuff memorized. How long until we're outta there?"

"Much too long."

Lea joined Isa in sitting on the cool grass. Isa stared blankly off in the direction of King Ansem's castle. Lea flipped back so he was lying down in the grass.

"Still wanting to get more into King Ansem's work and stuff?" he asked.

"Oh, naturally."

Lea laughed. Isa's face remained stoic.

"No monsters today," Lea said.

Isa shrugged. "Now you've said it. They'll appear."

Lea chuckled. "You're superstitious. Go knock on some wood or something."

Isa turned to face his friend for the first time, a smirk evident on his face. "How about I knock your _head_!?"

Lea rolled out of the way and sat up.

Isa snickered. "Fell for that one."

Lea rolled his eyes. "You wish!"

"You moved!"

"Defensive measure."

"Yeah, you fell for it."

Lea scowled.

"You've got to be less evasive when you fight, more forward and… blunt."

"Like you?"

Isa shrugged.

"Oh whatever, man. Everyone's got their own fighting style. If everyone fought the same, nothing would ever get done."

"I'm sure if there was one superior way to fight that would rid the world of monsters altogether, everyone would start fighting that way," Isa said.

"Or someone would just make more monsters," Lea countered.

Isa shrugged. "Not everyone thinks like that."

"Not everyone is a hive-mind, Isa. Goodness, what's gotten into you?!"

"Just thinking about the future, that's all."

"Anything specific?" Lea asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just what we're going to do when we're done with school."

"Oh, glad to see I'm included in this."

"What we're going to do when we finally get into King Ansem's place," Isa said, staring Lea right in the eye. "We have to work as a team. We will undoubtedly fail otherwise."

"Of course," Lea said, giving Isa a dismissing gesture. "No need to get all overly-serious about the whole thing."

"Don't treat this lightly, Lea,"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So long as I get a legacy out of it, I couldn't really care less."

xx

_Radiant Garden: Kairi, Age 4_

The little red-headed girl sat in the flowerbed by the fountains. Her grandmother wasn't too far off. She was talking to someone or other. The girl didn't care. She liked the flowers.

"Hi!" she said, waving to everyone who walked by. Most people waved back with a smile. Some people forced just enough of a smile to please the girl. Kairi didn't notice the difference. She wasn't old enough yet.

"Hi!" she called at the brown-haired boy who'd fought off some of the blue monsters the other day. He smiled sheepishly and gave a little wave back. She giggled.

"Hi!" she said loudly at the red-haired boy with his blue-haired friend. The blue-haired boy laughed and the red-haired boy tried to disappear into his shirt. The blue-haired boy whacked him on the back. They both replied with "Hello"s of their own.

"Hi!" she said, waving to a black-haired boy she didn't recognize. He had bright blue eyes, the bluest she'd ever seen. He turned at her voice and grinned. She grinned, too.

He walked over to her. "Well, hello there."

She giggled. "My name's Kairi!" she said.

"My name's Zack. How are you?"

She frowned, thinking. "I'm good!" she said after a bit. "Do you like my flowers?" she pointed at the flowers she was sitting in.

"Are they all yours?" Zack asked, looking surprised.

She frowned again. "No," she pouted. "But I pick them sometimes."

"That's pretty cool," Zack said.

"Want some?" she asked.

"Nah, not right now. Thanks though."

She shrugged. "Okay."

"Hey, I'm new here. Would you tell me where all the shops are?"

Kairi thought for a moment, then she pointed. "That way."

Zack smiled. "Thanks! See you around, kid!"

"Uh-huh!" she said. "What are you looking for?"

"Something to travel with," Zack said.

"Starshard," Kairi replied.

"What?" Zack asked, confused.

"Starshard," she repeated with a nod.

Zack nodded politely, then got up and left.

"Bye!" Kairi yelled after him, waving.

He waved back and went off in the direction Kairi had pointed.

"Kairi!" Kairi's grandmother called. "Come here, please!"

Kairi got up and toddled over to her grandmother.

"What did you tell that nice young man?"

"Starsahrd," Kairi repeated again with a vigorous nod.

Now Kairi's grandmother frowned. "Do you even know what one of those is?"

Kairi shook her head 'no'.

"Then where did you hear of them?"

"Mickey!" Kairi replied.

Kairi's grandmother shook her head, laughing a little. The things kids said sometimes.

Kairi looked over to where Zack had wandered off to. She smiled at his retreating figure.

xx

_Radiant Garden: Aerith, Age 13_

Aerith stood in her back yard, waving a stick around as if it were a sword. She often thought about starting to maybe learn how to fight. The increase of monsters made her think that perhaps it would be a good idea. She whacked the stick against a tree.

"Aerith!" came her mother's call. "Someone's here to see you!"

Aerith dropped the stick and ran to the front door. She wasn't surprised to see Kairi standing there with her grandmother.

"Need me to watch her for the afternoon?" Aerith asked.

"No," Kairi's grandmother replied. "I actually had a question to ask you."

"Oh, okay. Would you like to come in?"

"That would be nice."

Aerith stepped aside for Kairi and her grandmother to come in.

"Hi!" Kairi said, handing Aerith a flower. Aerith laughed and put it in the nearest vase (which already had several flowers in it.)

Kairi's grandmother sat down at the table. Kairi hauled herself up into a chair as well.

"I'll get some lemonade," Aerith's mother said.

"What's going on?" Aerith said, taking a seat as well.

"I wondered if you had told Kairi about star shards."

Aerith frowned. "I'm afraid I couldn't have, considering _I _don't know what those are."

Kairi's grandmother sighed. "Right. Did she mention anything to you about Mickey?"

Aerith nodded. "Apparently, he's a mouse. She met him a few weeks ago."

"He had a key-sword!" Kairi said proudly.

Kairi's grandmother's eyes widened, but Aerith didn't understand the significance. Kairi's grandmother sighed.

"Be careful, Aerith," she said. "Something dark is coming."

"More than just the monsters?" Aerith asked.

"Can't you feel it, Aerith?"

Aerith paused and thought about it for a minute. She didn't like what she found. She shuddered.

Kairi's grandmother nodded understandingly. "Watch yourself, dear."

Aerith nodded. "You, too."

"Oh, of course. But my light's been on for a long time. It may be time to…"

"You're not thinking about dying on me, are you?" Aerith said, trying to be chiding as opposed to fearful.

"Oh, gracious, no. Not with Kairi to look after, still."

Aerith tried to smile, but she found it hard. She was still a little shaken after the darkness she'd sensed. She would have to consciously not look for that.

"Grandma, I'm hungry," Kairi said.

"I'll go get some snacks. My mom should be here with the lemonade soon."

Sure enough, Aerith's mom brought the lemonade and some cookies.

"Ooh! Cookies!" Kairi squealed, taking two—one for each hand.

Aerith laughed now. There was something about the little girl that just brought so much hope and light and peace to the world.

Aerith hoped beyond all hopes that the oncoming darkness would not destroy that. If it did, it was truly evil.


	6. Not Sorry

**Author's Note: **So, in general, time's passed. :P I've set up the story(ies) and now I'm adding conflict! Woohoo! Enjoy!

* * *

_Timber: Rinoa, Age 16_

Rinoa stood in the training yard that the Timber Forest Owls used for practicing whatever weapons they had. No one there seemed to care that her primary weapon was magic. Though, she knew she would need to get another weapon sooner or later. If she could use another weapon besides just raw magic, she'd be able to hide her magic better and it wouldn't be such an issue.

At least she was getting the hang of her magic. She no longer accidentally cast spells anymore, which was definitely a plus. She'd mastered the basic elemental magic as well as some curative magic—which was certainly useful given all the monsters around. There was a new type of monster that kept popping up—black ones with yellow eyes. Rinoa didn't like how they felt. There was something off about them…

However, as much as she was getting the hang of her magic, she found it to be harder and harder to use these days. Every single week that passed marked a harder time Rinoa had using even basic spells. Was this common for Sorceresses? Rinoa would ask someone, but there was no one to ask.

"Well, look at Miss-Lucky-Magic-User here," came the voice of one of the fellow Owls. The boy the voice belonged to had dark shaggy hair and pale skin. "Don't hurt yourself with that."

"Shut up, Zone," Rinoa said, biting her tongue. "It's harder than it looks."

Angelo barked.

"Hmm, right girl?" Rinoa said.

"Like you can understand what your dog says," Zone teased.

"I can understand her just fine, thank you very much," Rinoa said, turning to face Zone.

Zone jumped back. Rinoa frowned, then looked down at her hands. They were just in a simple defensive block, one that she tended to do out of habit more than anything else nowadays. The Forest Owls had taught her enough hand-weapon-techniques that she wasn't completely weaponless. But that still didn't stop her from wanting a _real _weapon. Maybe something with a projectile aspect.

"Oh, Zone, relax," she said.

"Sometimes I worry that you're going to turn me into a frog or something," he stammered.

"First of all, I don't know that spell. Second of all, I don't think anyone besides a Sorceress could cast that spell. Third of all, I'm not even in a proper casting stance!"

Zone relaxed a little bit.

"Is there something you wanted?" Rinoa asked. "Or did you just come out here to bother me?"

"Oh, food's ready. Watts got some good stuff from the market this time."

"Awesome. Who cooked?"  
"Amy," Zone answered.

Rinoa licked her lips. Amy was the best cook out of the Forest Owls. Rinoa started following Zone back inside.

"Come on, girl," Rinoa said to Angelo. "Time for food."

The dog stood up and followed at Rinoa's heels.

One of the perks of being with the Forest Owls was that, for the most part, there was always food. Everyone put a percentage of their munny they got from fighting monsters or other paid jobs some of the other members had into the 'Food and Other Expenses' fund. Some weeks there was more food than others, but for the most part, everyone ate pretty well. Everyone took turns shopping and cooking, and doing various other chores around the place.

Rinoa had joined the Forest Owls very intentionally because the whole point of the teenager-run organization was to liberate the small town of Timber from the overpowering and tyrannical control of Galbadia. She sought them out mostly out of a spiteful punch towards her father, not like he would ever know where she actually was. But she joined the Forest Owls, saying that she might know lots of information about the Galbadian army. They welcomed her with open arms and she started sharing a room with Amy.

That was months and months ago. And though Rinoa's knowledge and potential information about the dealings of the Galbadian army had long since run out, no one seemed to care that she stuck around. Everyone liked her. Her codename was "The Princess", but sometimes, she was referred to as "The Strategist."

Zone was "The Brains" because he thought up most of their missions. Watts was "The Second" because he was unofficially second-in-command after Zone. Amy was (to her immense displeasure) "Pigtails", but Rinoa usually just called her "The Cook" because she was her favorite cook. Then there was Smarmy, codenamed "The Pirate" and then Reggie, nicknamed "The Punch" (for his quick punches.) Rinoa had learned everything she knew about hand-combat from him.

"Everyone's here except Reggie," Amy said as Rinoa and Zone entered into the small kitchen with a table just big enough for the six of them.

"Where's Reggie?" Rinoa asked.

"On a scouting mission," Watts said, serving himself up a big pile of pasta. "He said he might not be back in time for dinner."

"Oh, okay," Rinoa replied, grabbing Angelo's bowl to fill before she dished herself up a serving.

"Do you think you could go on a scouting mission next week?" Zone asked Rinoa.

"You couldn't have asked me out on the training yard?" she asked.

"Wanted everyone to hear your reaction."

"Reggie's not here," Rinoa pointed out.

"Can't be helped," Zone said with a shrug.

"I suppose. Are we talking a solo scouting mission?"

"Sure," Watts said. "You're ready for one of those, right?"

Rinoa placed Angelo's bowl down on the ground and then grabbed a plate for herself.

"I guess so," she said with a shrug. "What type of scouting are we talking about here?"

"Just a simple knowledge gathering. We want you to get yourself into Galbadia and do some spying," Watts said.

"Okay," Rinoa replied. "I can do that."

"That's not all," Zone interrupted. "We need you to spy on someone in particular."  
"Who?" Rinoa asked, her eyes narrowing.

"General Caraway."

Rinoa nearly dropped the plate she was holding. She caught it at the last second and hastily put it down on the counter. Angelo looked at the dropped pasta and Rinoa indicated she should eat it. Angelo gave a quiet bark and moved to lick up the floor before going back to her bowl.

"Any other man but him," Rinoa said, trying to keep what was now panic under control.

"Is there a problem?" Zone asked.

Zone wasn't accusing or taunting in his words. He was genuinely asking if there would be a problem with this scouting mission. This wasn't a mission to prove herself, just a mission that needed to be done which he felt Rinoa was the best person for the job. She was from Galbadia after all. Just, her fa—General Caraway was the person who they needed intel on for whatever reason.

"No," Rinoa stammered. "Just, why him? Surely there are better people…"

"He's the most influential general in Galbadia," Watts explained. "That's why he's the one we've gotta watch."

Rinoa resolved herself to the fact that she needed to do this.

"Right, when do I need to leave?"

"Within the next few days," Zone said.

"Right," Rinoa said. Then she grabbed her plate again and sat down to enjoy her meal.

xx

"What's freaking you out about all this?" Amy asked later that night. "You've been jumping at the idea of doing more scouting work."

"I know," Rinoa said. "Just why him?"

"What's your problem with him?"

Rinoa hadn't told anyone about General Caraway being her father. By the time she'd joined the Forest Owls, she'd gotten her name changed to Heartily and thus no connection was really made, despite "Heartily" being the last name of the famous singer Julia Heartily—Rinoa's mother. Perhaps though, now was the time to tell.

"The general," Rinoa began. "He's my father." Her voice quieted to a whisper.

The gasp from Amy was certainly audible, however. "How…?" she began.

"How is that possible?" Rinoa asked. "Beats me, but it is. It's just, that's why I'm so apprehensive about this whole mission. I'm probably more at risk of something bad happening to me in the event that I get caught than anyone else here."

"Then just tell Zone and Watts," Amy interrupted. "They won't care that he's your dad. They know where your loyalties lie. Tell them the big huge problem with this and they'll let you off the hook. Smarmy or someone'll go."

Rinoa sighed. "Just as much as I've got the most at stake here, I'm also the least likely to get caught. I've been thinking about it, and it's true. I know every single way in and out of his house. I know where his office is. I bet I could even figure out when all of his meetings are. I'm the best person for this mission, whether I like it or not."

Amy pursed her lips, but nodded. She rummaged around in her dresser and pulled out a knife. She walked over to Rinoa and handed it to her.

"You're not asking me to kill my father, are you?" Rinoa asked, eyes wide.

"No, that'll be for the enemies between here and Deling City," Amy said. "There's bound to be loads. And, I mean, I know you've got your magic and all, but I feel more comfortable knowing that you'll have a weapon."

Rinoa smiled and took the knife. "Thanks," she said. "I'll bring it back to you."

"Just you come home, okay? That's all that matters."

xx

Amy was right about the enemies. As soon as Rinoa was out in the open, she ran into little monsters—nothing big, just annoying little brutes. She killed the first one with a good blast of fire, but no magic came to her after that. In the time it took her to get the knife unsheathed from her belt, she'd gotten several scratches on her legs to her dismay. She was very careful after that, knowing that her magic was no longer something she could rely on. If she wasn't positive she could kill the monsters with Amy's knife, she just ran and prayed she could outrun the monsters. Thankfully, most of them let her alone once she got far enough away from their territory.

She managed to muster up enough magic for a good Cure spell just outside of Deling City. It wouldn't do to go wandering about tired and wounded. Then she hastily made her way to the back alleys and lesser-known streets in order to get to her father's mansion. She had no trouble remembering the way.

When she reached the mansion, she went around to one of the side walls and scaled it easily. She'd done this many times in her earlier teenage years. Both ways.

The easy part was over. The monsters in the open were nothing compared to this. Now she had to make sure she didn't get caught. It would ruin everything if she did.

She froze when she heard her father's voice. She silently wished she knew an invisibility spell. But even if she knew one, there was no telling if she'd have enough magic to put it to work. However, she relaxed when she caught her father walking pleasantly with another military official. They got into a car and left.

Now was her chance. But she had to hurry. Her father wasn't going to be gone forever.

She climbed up to the second-story window that was always unlocked. She hauled herself in and made sure she landed on the soft rug instead of the hardwood floor. She left that room and went to the hallway, peeked around to make sure that the deaf cook was nowhere around and then went straight to her father's office.

She poked around his office, wondering what she might be looking for. The Forest Owls really just wanted any sort of information. But what could she bring them? She ruffled around on his desk, looking for anything that might spark her interest or be of use.

And then she found it! It was an orders scroll, calling for Galbadian soldiers to go into Timber and subdue all resistance efforts. The order had been signed by her father and looked like it was just waiting to go in the mail. Rinoa snatched it up, knowing that if it never made it out in the mail, the orders could never be enacted.

Sure, it wouldn't solve their problem forever, but she could make it back to Timber before another order was drafted up. She'd be able to warn everyone what was coming.

"I'm not even sorry, Father," she said as she pocketed the papers.

Her luck ran out as soon as she locked the front door behind her. Her father had returned. The orders seemed to burn like fire in her pack, like they might be visible for all to see. She had seconds to duck into the bushes. She kicked herself for not going out the back way.

"Who's there?" her father called.

Rinoa held her breath.

"Sir," said the other military official. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"It's not nothing," her father barked.

Rinoa gathered up all the magic she could find. She may just have enough for one spell.

"Fire!" she whispered. The bush caught on fire.

The yelp from both her father and the other military official was highly satisfying, but Rinoa didn't have time to revel in it. She needed to crawl away from the flames as discreetly as possible. She was glad her boots were fireproof. She belly-crawled through the bushes until she was around the corner of the house. Then she burst out of the bushes and broke into a run. She scaled the wall as easily as if she had wings and started running through the city once more.


	7. Nifty Thing

**Author's Note: **Back to Zack! (shh, I didn't mean to rhyme.) Erm, not much to say that won't spoil anything, so I'll wait. Enjoy!

* * *

_Wonderland: Zack, Age 15_

_Well, this place is strange, _Zack thought to himself as he wandered through giant mushrooms and singing flowers. Even in the months that his only travel was the mysterious black feathers he'd never been someplace this strange. Sure there was the world with the sleeping people, but that was more unsettling than strange.

Now he had a star shard. The girl, Kairi, had certainly been onto something when she'd mentioned them to him. He wondered how a girl so young could know about something so useful. He'd been able to pick up a star shard real easily in that one world, Radiant Garden. Now, travelling was so much easier—and on his call.

Not that he'd found an adventure or a battle big enough to make him a war hero, but he was beginning to like travelling. He stayed in each world for a bit, cleaned up a mess or two (sometimes monsters, sometimes stuff more complicated than monsters) and then left. He lived off of the munny he got from these odd jobs. It wasn't a bad way to live. He had grown accustomed to it.

He did have to wonder about those black feathers still though. Who'd been sending them? He never figured that out.

Zack had yet to find anyone in this world. Well, he'd found the singing flowers, but if those were the only people here, he wasn't going to be able to help them in any way shape or form, mostly because they didn't _want_ help.

Then Zack heard wings. He looked around, he hadn't seen anything with wings around here yet. This could be exciting. He drew his sword though, just in case.

He looked up in the sky (for where else would something be that had wings) and was shocked to see another person—just with a single, white wing. He lowered his sword a little.

"Soldier, what are you doing here?" the man asked, landing in front of Zack.

"Soldier?" Zack asked, a little bit of a laugh escaping from his mouth. "I'm a mercenary at best."

The man bowed his head a little—not in respect though, in an "oh boy" gesture.

"I guess I'm just here looking for work," Zack said.

"You won't find it here," the man said. "This place is…"

"Strange? Weird? Odd?" Zack supplied. "Empty of all people besides ourselves?"

"Oh there are people," the man said with a bit of a smirk. "They just don't look like us."

Zack shrugged. "I've seen some strange stuff in my travels."

The man raised an eyebrow. "How long have you out on your own?"

"Year or two," Zack said, like it was nothing.

The man looked, if nothing else, concerned—probably because of Zack's age—but he said nothing.

Zack took interest in the man's wings.

"Forgive me if I'm being rude," he said. "But can I assume your wings can take you from world to world?"

The man frowned, but nodded.

"Do you think the individual feathers could sort of warp someone from world to world?" Zack was aware he was being rude now, the amount of staring he was doing at this man's wing was highly not nice. But those feathers looked very similar to the black feathers that had transported him around for so long. The only foreseeable difference was that this man's wings were white.

"Why do you ask?" the man asked.

"Well, you see, for a while, the only way I got around was these mysterious black feathers that appeared out of nowhere, but just within my reach. When I grabbed a hold of them, I got transported somewhere else. I figure _someone's _gotta be responsible for that sort of thing. There's no way I'm bonkers because I can't just imagine being transported someplace else. Of course, now I've got my own means of transportation but…"

The man was frowning. Zack stopped. "What?" he asked.

"You're sure they were black feathers?" the man asked.

Zack nodded. "Sure as the sun on whatever World I'm on rises."

The man smirked. "There are Worlds where the sun doesn't rise."

Zack blinked. "Interesting. Good to know, though, too, I s'pose. What's so special about the black feathers? If you know, I'd love to…"

"If you don't mind, I think you best come with me," the man said.

Zack barely had a chance to respond when the man grabbed his arm and took off flying, bringing Zack right along.

xx

Travelling between Worlds via flight was significantly different than via star shard. Star shards were jumpy and nerve-wracking. Anyone's first trip by them was usually disorienting and sometimes sickening. Flying, however, was smooth and easy to handle.

They arrived in a familiar World for Zack, though not a familiar city. They arrived just outside a sprawling city on a cliff of sorts that overlooked it.

"Midgar," the man said. But Zack didn't really need that information. The industrialization of the city mixed with the smell of toxic waste generated from Mako reactors was enough for Zack to put the puzzle pieces together.

"I'm Angeal, by the way," the man said, a smirk of a smile showing on his face. "I suppose I should have introduced myself earlier, but you caught me off guard with your question."

"No harm by it," Zack said, scratching his head. "I'm Zack."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Zack said with a grin.

"So those black feathers," the man said, sitting down on the cliff's edge.

Zack sat down as well, waiting to hear the answer at last.

"The feathers came from a…" Angeal paused. "Perhaps I should start from the beginning."

"Whatever makes the most sense to you," Zack said, shrugging.

"There was a scientist, who believed he could recreate ancient beings—gods, almost," Angeal said wistfully.

"The Cetra?" Zack asked, his eyes wide.

This comment surprised Angeal. "What do you know of the Cetra?"

"Enough, I guess. I'm from Gongaga."

"That explains a lot," Angeal mused. "Including your clothing!"

This last comment was said with a very joking attitude, though Zack feigned offense anyway.

"Hey!"

They both laughed.

"So, that mad scientist?" Zack said.

"I never said he was mad, just a scientist," Angeal corrected, though he didn't seem offended by Zack's assumption. "But it was his goal to recreate the Cetra, or at the very least, create super human beings. I ended up being one of those experiments."

"He experimented _on _you?" Zack asked, astonished.

Angeal nodded. "I was too young to even have a say."

"That's cruel!"

Angeal snorted. "I was not the only experiment, however. My friend fell victim to this man's experimentation as well. His wing is black."

"Is he the one who's been taking me all over the place?"

"I believe so."

"Why?"

Angeal bowed his head. "We are subject to degradation."

"Degra-what?" Zack asked.

"Degradation. Our very cells die faster than average. We are doomed to short lifespans and potentially painful ones."

"Harsh."

"Quite. After what you said regarding Genesis' feathers, I believe that he might have been using them to get you away from your hometown in order to perhaps use your perfectly normal genes to fix himself."

Zack blanched. "Is that even possible?"

"I don't know. What I do know is how he made sense of it in his head. You grew up in Gongaga, did you not?"

"Yup."

"Which means, as much as you didn't realize it, you had Mako energy seeping into your very being. Mako is the energy that created experiments like Genesis and myself, but for all intents and purposes, we are wrong. You, however, are perfectly melded with the Mako energy and Genesis may want to try and utilize you to make himself stop degrading."

"Why me?"

"That I do not know. Can you think of something you may have done to get his attention?"

Zack thought about it for a second. Then it hit him.

"I left home," he said quietly. "I left home, looking for adventure."

Angeal pursed his lips. "And thus you made yourself a target. If you didn't come home, would someone come looking for you?"

"Not for a while," Zack said. "No one's come looking for me so far."

"Exactly. If things had gone according to plan, by the time anyone came looking for you, Genesis would have already tried to enact his plan."

"And you're _friends _with him?" Zack asked, astonished.

"It's been a while," Angeal said sadly. "You could say that we stopped being so close after the degradation started."

"You don't look too bad," Zack said.

Angeal raised his eyebrows. "I suppose I am better off than Genesis, because I was experimented on so young and the grafts had a chance to grow with me. Genesis was not so lucky, having been experimented on during his teens."

"That's rough," Zack said, scratching his head.

Angeal did not say anything, he only nodded.

"So why are you telling all of this to me?"

"Well, since Genesis seems to have taken an interest in you, I feel the need to at least warn you, if not try and stop Genesis from whatever he is planning."

"I'm all for a travelling buddy," Zack said. "If it makes you feel any better, I haven't seen one of the black feathers in months."

"You got your own means of transportation," Angeal stated simply. "You've managed to get ahead of him."

"Well, what do you say we stick together?" Zack said. "That way, if this Genesis guy shows up, we can convince him that what he's doing isn't the nicest thing in the Worlds."

Angeal laughed. "What else would we do?"

"Well, I've just been going from World to World, getting rid of monsters, trying to fight the darkness."

"Darkness?"

"I had a run-in with the darkness once, it was nasty!" Zack offered. "I've kind of made it my personal goal to make sure I fight it back so it doesn't try and take anyone else."

"The darkness will still claim people," Angeal said. "It's what it does. It's a nasty cycle, but part of life."

"I think the darkness should just go away. It's darkness that makes people evil scientists that feel it necessary to experiment on people," Zack argued.

Angeal frowned.

Zack hung his head. "That might have been uncalled for."

"It is, at least, understandable," Angeal said.

Zack sighed. "So, you up for sticking together?" he asked to change the subject.

Angeal smiled. "I think that sounds like a good idea. Perhaps I can even teach you how to fight properly."

"Hey! I know how to fight!"

Angeal snorted. "You don't hold a sword correctly."

"What do you mean, I don't hold a sword correctly? I've been fighting with that sword for three years now and it hasn't given me one problem."

Angeal raised an eyebrow. "But your fighting stance is all wrong. You'll hurt yourself one of these days if you keep that up."

Zack gaped

Angeal laughed.

"I suppose," Zack mused. "Since I'm so close to home, I should go visit, and you know, let them all know I'm alive."

Angeal laughed again. "Whatever you want, kiddo. Do you want to walk all the way to Gongaga from here, or should I fly?"  
"We could always rent a Chocobo."

"Or I could fly," Angeal persisted.

Zack sighed. "I suppose I probably don't have the money for a Chocobo, anyway."

"No sense wasting your money on a Chocobo when you have other means of transportation at your disposal. What have you been using to get from World to World, anyway?"

Zack fumbled around in his pocket for the star shard.

"This!" he said. "It's a star shard. Nifty thing."

Angeal seemed impressed.


	8. I'm Not Everyone

**Author's Note: **And thus, the sadness begins. Lives are turned upside-down and the feels abound. Rather than babble on about this unnecessarily, I'll just let you read.

* * *

_Radiant Garden: Aerith, Age 14_

Something was wrong. Something was very, _very _wrong. The darkness was everywhere and it was so very angry. It wanted to consume, to eat, it desired to overrun everything. It was suffocating…

Aerith sat bolt upright in bed. She looked around. She didn't see anything outside of the usual darkness that befell Radiant Garden every night. However, something was still very, very wrong. She got up and slid on her boots that sat at the foot of her bed and threw a jacket on over her nightgown. She padded into her mother's room and saw that her mother was still asleep. Aerith whispered the best protection spell she could think of and left her mother's room.

She wasn't going to be able to sleep until she knew that everything was all right. She ran out of her house and gasped when she saw it.

A large black-hole of darkness seemed to be eating up everything in its near vicinity. The hole seemed to be right in between the town district and the castle proper. But it didn't discriminate between the richer homes and the poorer homes, it just ate everything. Aerith stood, frozen, unable to really figure out what she should do.

A shout broke her from her paralysis. There was shouting all around as people ran screaming, but this shout in particular startled her.

"Cure!"

Magic. Not an uncommon thing, but healing magic took a lot of practice. She looked and saw two boys from her school—well, they had recently graduated, but she knew them from school all the same. A boy with spikey red hair, and a boy with blue hair cropped around his ears. The red-head was pulling his friend up from the ground.

"Come _on_, Isa! We've gotta get out of here!" he cried. His friend stumbled but eventually got back up on his feet.

"We need to get to the castle," he coughed.

"Nuh-uh!" the red-head argued. "Not with that _thing _in the way. We're going to run in the other direction and figure this all out later."

Aerith couldn't catch what the reply was. Her mother stepped outside. She, like Aerith, gasped at the sight.

"Darkness," she whispered. Then, turning to her daughter, "Aerith, this World is falling into darkness. If we wish to live, we must leave. Go, tell everyone you can! I'll gather up some healing supplies in the meantime. Hurry!"

"But, Mom, how are we supposed to leave a World?"

"I'll explain later, go!"

Aerith didn't waste any more time. She needed to warn people that they needed to leave. If they didn't know how, she guessed she'd just send them to her mother. She seemed to know what to do.

As Aerith was running, she realized that she needed to check on a couple people in particular. Kairi and her grandmother. Likely, Kairi's grandmother knew what was happening, just like Aerith's mother. But Kairi's grandmother was in no position to start running anywhere. Aerith started running faster.

Halfway to Kairi's house, Aerith heard a child crying. She knew this child's cry in particular. Yuffie.

She slowed and saw Yuffie crying off to the side of the street.

"Yuffie!" she shouted. "Yuffie, what's wrong?"

"Mommy and Daddy are missing!" she cried.

Aerith's stomach dropped. If Yuffie's parents had any clue what was happening to Radiant Garden right now, they wouldn't have abandoned their daughter. Despite this, Aerith told Yuffie:

"Come on, let's go find them."

Yuffie let herself be picked up and Aerith did her best to run with Yuffie in-tow. Aerith grew queasy at the sight of the blackness sucking everything inside of it with no reprieve. She told Yuffie to close her eyes, but nothing could drown out the sound of screams. Aerith wished that she herself could not hear it. She got to Kairi's house and felt all the blood drain out of her face. The house was nearly obliterated.

Aerith picked her way across the rubble of what once was the home that Kairi and her grandmother lived in. Yuffie started crying and Aerith could think of no way to quiet her.

"Aerith!" came a call from Kairi's grandmother.

"Hey!" Aerith said, running over to where she was lying on the ground, amidst Kairi's ruined room. "Hey! Let's get you up and standing. We can get away…"

"No time!" Kairi's grandmother urged. "You must leave. Take Yuffie and _go_!"

"Not without you!" Aerith insisted.

"My time has come," Kairi's grandmother whispered. "I knew this time would come."

Realizing something more urgent, Aerith gasped, "Where's Kairi?"

"Gone," Kairi's grandmother said with a smile. "Somewhere safe. I watched the protection spell take her. She has already left this World."

Aerith nodded.

"Go!" Kairi's grandmother repeated. "Before the darkness takes you!"

Yuffie's cries got louder.

Aerith readjusted Yuffie on her hip and began running again as best as she could. She needed to get back to her house.

As she ran, someone's footsteps matched hers in pace. She looked over to see the boy, Squall, running beside her.

"What are you doing out here?" he shouted.

"Trying to see if anyone needs help," Aerith called. "You?"

"Same." He held out his hands. "Let me take the girl from you."

Aerith slowed enough to hand Yuffie to Squall. Squall scooped her up much easier than Aerith had done and put her on his back. Yuffie wrapped her legs around his waist and her hands around his chest.

"We haven't much time," he said.

Aerith looked at the darkness. It was bigger and more menacing now.

"Come on!" she shouted. "If we get back to my mom's place, she knows how to get off of this World."

Squall made no argument as they adjusted their direction to go back to Aerith's house.

However, the darkness now stood in their way.

"Mom!" Aerith cried.

Squall backpedaled. "We can't go that way."

"Mom!"

Squall grabbed Aerith's arm. "We can't go that way," he repeated. "Where does your mom live?"

Aerith told him where.

He frowned. "That part of town is gone, Aerith."

Aerith shook her head, not believing him.

"Aerith, let's get back to Cid's place. He knows how to get out of here, too. If we're lucky, he and your mom thought to go to the same place."

Aerith couldn't believe what she was hearing. Squall groaned and tugged on her arm.

"Let's _go_!" he shouted.

Numbly, Aerith followed him back the way they had came, to Crazy Cid's workshop. Aerith knew that was where Squall now lived too, ever since he'd grown too old for the boys' home. She and Squall didn't talk much, but they had run into each other more and more frequently as the new monsters—Heartless, they were called—became increasingly more prevalent.

Thankfully, Cid's place was still standing, but the wind caused by the darkness was growing stronger. Squall hauled open the door and nearly shoved Aerith inside before following with Yuffie on his back.

"Tha' all yer able to ge'?" Cid asked, piling stuff around a machine of sorts.

Squall nodded.

"Right, well, we ain' go' more time'n tha'. Le's go!"

Cid made everyone crowd as closely as possible around his machine. Aerith noticed several chests surrounding it as well.

"What are…?" she began.

"Clothin' an' munny," Cid grunted. Then he pulled a lever and the machine activated.

In a blast of light, the four of them were taken away from Radiant Garden. Aerith felt herself being violently ripped away from everything she'd ever known and loved. But more wrenching was the loss of life that she felt. Aerith had always been able to feel when people died, particularly those close to her. Her mother said it was her relationship to the Worlds around them. Aerith was always sad when she felt people grow sick and die. But Aerith felt two deaths very strongly.

Kairi's grandmother was no more.

And neither was her mother.

Her mother had not made it out of Radiant Garden.

When the light dimmed and Aerith found herself staring at a different town, she felt her stomach overturn and she wretched into a nearby patch of grass.

"Sorry 'bout tha'," Cid said, wiping his hands on his pants. "Forgot teh warn ya abou' the motion-sickness."

Aerith shook her head. "Not motion sickness. So many people… dead… lost to the darkness."

Cid bowed his head. "I knowwit. T'happens when someone goes an' messes with the balance of thin's."

"Cid," Squall said quietly. "The machine."

Everyone looked at the machine that had gotten them off of Radiant Garden. It was a smoking and smoldering mess.

Cid sighed. "Figures. Thought i' migh' be a one-way trip." He gathered up two chests. "C'mon everyone, le's ge' ourselves someplace to stay."

"Where are we?" Aerith asked quietly.

"Place called Traverse Town," Cid answered. "T'a place for travelers. We won' be considered outta teh ord'nary."

Aerith picked up a chest with one hand and grabbed Yuffie's hand with the other. She wasn't sure what the two of them were going to do. But the least she could do for now was help Squall and Crazy Cid get settled in before moving on. The two men had saved them, after all.

Yuffie had grown quiet. She stared ahead of her, not really processing what was going on, except that she needed to be mindful of where she walked. She had two fingers stuck in her mouth and she was sucking on them. Aerith's heart leapt and she had to stifle her own cries.

"I'm Cid, by the way," Cid said. "An' this here is Squall."

"I know Squall from school," Aerith said quietly. "I'm Aerith, and this is Yuffie."

"Please'to meet'cha."

Cid purchased two rooms to stay in for the night, though the hotel owner placed them in rooms that were supposedly longer-term. He saw their bedraggled state and gave them the bigger room for no extra charge.

Aerith and Yuffie helped the boys set up in their room. Aerith wasn't sure what was going to happen after that. She and Yuffie had a room for the night, but nothing else. No clothes, no munny of their own, no food, nothing.

Yuffie hadn't spoken since their arrival to Traverse Town, but as Aerith finished moving the last chest to a place out of the way, Yuffie spoke.

"Where are my mommy and daddy?" she asked, her voice quiet.

Cid looked at the girl and scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say. Aerith wrung her hands, walked over to Yuffie, and put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm sure, they're fine, somewhere…" Cid muttered. "We could always go loo…"

But Aerith shook her head.

"How…?" Cid began, but Squall thankfully shushed him.

"Yuffie," Aerith said, trying to keep the calm in her voice. "Your parents didn't make it out of the darkness. If they had, they wouldn't have left you. They're in a better place now."

Yuffie sniffled.

"They're with my mom," Aerith said. "It's just you and me now."

"You've got me," Squall said. "And Cid."

Aerith turned to look at them. "Really? You'd take us on like that?"

"Sure thin'," Cid said, smiling. "We'll make a family of our own."

"But I don't have any munny," Aerith said.

"We don' have much either," Cid said. "We all have to ge' back on our feet. A lo' of people do."

"Thank you, Cid," Aerith said. "Thank you, Squall."

"Leon," he said.

"Pardon?" Aerith asked.

"Leon. I'd like to be called Leon. Squall couldn't save Radiant Garden, but maybe Leon can fix that."

"Squall," Cid said. "Yer being too hard on yerself."

But Squall (Leon) just turned away.

"Leon," Aerith said, testing out his new name. "Thank you for saving me. I know I'm not all of Radiant Garden. But thank you for saving me and Yuffie."

Yuffie ran up to Leon and hugged him around his legs. For a moment, his face softened and he hugged her back. It was then that Aerith noticed he had a gash across his face. She hadn't noticed before in the rush of everything else. She stood up and walked over to him in order to heal it.


	9. A New Enemy

**Author's Note: **Another stepping-stone ish chapter. I'll let you guys read. Remember to check out the blogs for review replies!

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_Destiny Islands: Kairi, Age 5_

She was in water. She didn't know how to swim. But something told her that was okay. She was okay. Her necklace gave off a faint glow as she drifted in the water. Kairi wasn't sure where she was or where she was going, but something told her to be calm and just wait.

Suddenly, there was wood underneath her. Kairi decided to let the wood take her wherever it was she was going. She wondered where she was. She wondered where her grandmother was. She called out, but no one answered.

And then there was solid ground beneath her. She crawled up to dryer ground and was confused by the course white dirt. Dirt was supposed to be brown. Kairi ran it between her fingers, frowning. The sun started to rise and she shielded her eyes at the burst of light.

Kairi was lost and she knew it. At home, if she had any idea how to get back to a place she knew, she was allowed to wander until she either got not-lost, or was very sure she was lost. It didn't take much thought for her to know that she was very lost.

Because she was very lost, she would have to wait until someone came and found her. Someone always found her. Whether it be her grandmother, or Aerith, or someone else. Kairi needed to wait until someone came and found her.

She sat back down in the weird dirt and started playing with it again. How could dirt be white? Why did it feel so different? She looked around her. To one side, there was a vast stretch of water. She had never seen so much water in one place.

To the other side were trees and bushes. There were a lot of green plants. And there were plants that were colors that weren't green. There were large trees, ones big enough to climb on. Where was she?

"Hey!" someone called. Kairi looked up. A boy about her age with spikey brown hair and bright blue eyes ran up to her.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Where did you come from?"

Kairi looked at him. He had found her, but was it okay to go with him?

"I'm Kairi," she said quietly.

The boy grinned. "Where did you come from?"

She shook her head. She didn't know what her home was called. The boy frowned. He turned his head.

"Riiiiiku!" he shouted.

Another boy ran up to them. He had silver hair, and looked a bit older.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"This is Kairi," the first boy, Sora, answered. "She's just here, on the beach."

The other boy frowned as well. "I'm going to go get my mom," he said. "Or you can go get your dad."

Sora thought about this for a moment. "My dad's closer," he said. Then he got up and ran off, kicking up the strange dirt. Kairi blinked and rubbed it out of her eyes.

"I'm Riku," the second boy said, offering out his hand. Kairi took it and he helped her stand up. "So you don't remember where you came from?"

"It…" Kairi began. "There were houses, and shops, and a castle…"

Riku frowned. "There's no castle here."

Kairi blinked. "Oh."

Riku smiled, then. "But we'll figure it out."

Kairi smiled too. "Okay!"

xx

_Balamb Garden: Quistis, Age 17_

Quistis stared at the piece of paper in her hands, not entirely believing that any of this was real. She had her instructors' license. After six months of hard work, ridiculous training, and several tests, Quistis finally had her instructors' license. Not only was she the youngest SeeD ever, but the youngest instructor ever. Quistis shook her head in disbelief. She… an instructor.

"I suppose I might need to cut back on the Triple Triad," Quistis muttered to herself, bemused. She was the best Triple Triad player in all of Balamb Garden, probably. She won nearly every game she played. Sure, she lost a few cards here and there, but she ultimately won every game. She had even read about rules in other places, so theoretically, she could play and do well in places that had different rules than Balamb.

Thoughts of Triple Triad distracted her as she made her way to her new room. As she walked, she noticed that there was a new message up on the live-updating message board. It demanded all instructors meet in Conference Room 3. Frowning for a brief moment, Quistis adjusted where she was going. She was an instructor now, she needed to go to this. It wouldn't be good to miss this and make a bad impression the first day her instructor's license was official.

Quistis took a seat towards the back of the conference room, unsure of the hierarchy of the instructors at Balamb Garden. As other instructors filtered in, she got the feeling that no one actually cared about any sort of hierarchy. People just sat in the first available seat they saw. Quistis smoothed her skirt almost absentmindedly, trying to look her best at any given time. She had to live up to the name she'd made for herself.

Headmaster Cid walked in the room. He looked a little harried. Quistis wondered what this was about.

"Everyone," he said. "There is a new type of monster roaming about."

A hushed murmur spread through the room. It quieted down when Cid held up a picture of this new monster. Quistis pursed her lips at the sight of it. The monster was nearly all black, with arms, legs and antennae. The only parts of it that was not black were its bright yellow eyes. There were several variations of this monster, of different sizes and proportions.

"I've heard reports of these monsters popping up just about all over Balamb. I've contacted both the Galbadian Garden and the Trabian Garden and they each have similar reports. This seems to be a world-wide appearance of a new monster."

Quistis frowned. Usually monsters were relatively localized. There were some that appeared in a couple of distinct places, but there were few enemies that appeared world-wide.

"As instructors," Cid continued. "It is our job to go out and find as much information as we can on these things so we can in turn give that information to our Cadets. I know that this will be strictly field work, but I want to leave this responsibility in your capable hands. Volunteers?"

Another round of murmuring sprang up around the room. People had classes, or students going up for field exams. Without thinking twice about it, Quistis raised her hand.

The murmuring took a different tone. Rather than annoyed disinterest, now everyone was upset that the "new instructor" who was obviously "less knowledgeable" was going to be doing a "very important job". Quistis resisted the urge to roll her eyes at them.

"Excellent!" Cid exclaimed. "Quistis, I'm glad you volunteered. I know you can handle this. If you wish, you may take a couple of Cadets with you."

Quistis smiled, already having an idea of which Cadets she would take.

xx

_Nibelheim: Tifa, Age 12_

Tifa stood at the help desk for tours of Mt. Nibel. She wasn't trying to get a tour, she'd done that loads of times before. It was because she'd been on the tour so many times that she thought she might be able to get a job as a tour guide—she basically already knew the spiel. She wanted to use the money to pay for martial art lessons with Zangan, the best instructor in the world (or so it was said.) She wanted to be able to defend herself, at the very least. To be completely honest, she wanted to be able to fight for her city if it came down to it. Or maybe go out adventuring at some point.

It wouldn't be much longer before the owner of the tour place came back out and said whether or not she got the position. Oh! There he was!

"I'm sorry, Tifa," he said. Her spirits fell. "We don't really have any openings right now. And, I know you know everything there is about Mt. Nibel, practically, but at this time, we really can't take you on. Try again in six months. We may have an opening then."

Tifa sighed. "That's okay, I understand."

He gave her what she figured was supposed to be an encouraging smile. She left the building. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. Most of the shops were family-owned, so there was no way she could get hired any of those places. And her father got paid for being on the city council, so she wasn't going to be able to get an apprenticeship from him. Cloud's mother would probably take her on as an apprentice—it didn't take much work to work at the soup kitchen. But Tifa's dad wanted nothing to do with the Strife family.

Despite having no way to pay for it yet, she made her way to Zangan's house. Maybe she could pay for her lessons by doing work around his place. There had to be _some _way she could get herself some fighting training.

Zangan let her right inside when she arrived at his house. She'd been frequenting it enough recently.

"Did you get the position?" he asked, not because he wanted to be paid, but because he honestly cared about Tifa.

Tifa shook her head sadly.

He offered her a cup of tea. "Well, perhaps you'll find something else."

"That's the thing, I don't think there _is _anything else. Do you think I could do some work around here in exchange for the lessons? I really want the training and…"

"Oh, I completely understand," Zangan replied. "And I will not deny you lessons just because a young girl like yourself cannot find a job at the present moment. How about I give you a month's lessons for free and then we can talk to your dad about maybe paying for lessons that way?"

"Oh, that does sound lovely," Tifa replied. "But I don't think my dad will pay for the lessons. He doesn't think girls should be fighting."

"Well that's baloney," Zangan said. "Girls can fight just as well as boys can. I can think of a dozen girls I've trained who are just as good—if not better—than the boys I train. Maybe I should talk to your father about this."

Tifa looked at her shoes. "I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"Nonsense. You want to know martial arts and I know how to teach them to you. We'll work something out. Lessons start tomorrow. Remember, I still offered you a month for free. We've got until then to figure this out."

Tifa smiled. "Thank you."

xx

_Timber: Rinoa, Age 16_

Rinoa stood in the training yard, trying to summon any bit of magic to her. None came. She may just officially be out. She had no Cures left, no Fires left, no Stops left, nothing. Perhaps she wasn't a Sorceress after all. She had known this was coming since her first solo scouting mission. It had been scary with only a knife to fend off monsters and she'd taken to spending her munny on potions, since she knew she couldn't Cure anymore.

At first, she was upset, because she didn't have the magic she really thought she had. She'd thrown away over a year of her life thinking that she was a Sorceress when clearly, there was no way she was one. She'd finally been able to master some simple spells and the power was just gone. And it was such a useful tool.

However, then the relief began to sink in. If she wasn't a Sorceress, then there was no reason for people to be afraid of her. She could go back to Balamb and be a SeeD. Sure, she'd have to apply again, for the time period in which they kept her file on record was months' past. But maybe if she could find that one girl, Quistis, she'd be able to plead a good case.

Of course, that would mean having to leave the Forest Owls. She'd been able to do them a lot of good already. She was the person they always sent to Galbadia proper to get intel. She traversed to Deling City more times than she could count and she had not once yet been caught by her father—a personal victory if anyone was counting.

She could always tell the other Owls that she would try and become a SeeD and then help them through that outlet. There was really only so much a small resistance group such as the Forest Owls could do. They did have a plan to kidnap President Deling and keep him until he agreed to stop trying to overrun Timber and keep them from being free. But there had yet to be an opportunity to enact that plan.

At the very least, Rinoa should head to Balamb and see if they could get SeeD assistance with the plan. It wouldn't hurt to have a few SeeD's on their side.

Rinoa went inside and started drafting up a couple of plans to go to Balamb Garden and try and become a SeeD again. She figured out what she would say, how she would try and find Quistis, what weapon she would try and go with, everything. And, if all else failed, maybe she could at least commission a few SeeDs.

As she flipped through her notebook, she came across a sketch of what she'd like her eventual weapon to be. She'd been thinking about it a lot recently, what with the gradual loss of her magic. She wanted a projectile weapon, but one that would come back to her like a boomerang. She had rough sketches for something that would strap onto her arm and could be activated by a spring. She wasn't quite sure how powerful it would ever be, or if she could even get it to function like a boomerang. But it was worth a shot.

She smiled and went back to her plans of going to Balamb Garden. Just then, Smarmy interrupted her.

"Hey, Rinoa, wanna go on a local mission with me? It's just around the city to see if we can sabotage some of Deling's rally speeches."

"But the speeches aren't until next week," Rinoa said.

"The sooner we can sabotage them, the better," Smarmy said with a grin.

Rinoa saw his point and closed her notebook. There was a mission to do and she could come back to her grandiose plans later. Maybe messing up Deling's rally speeches would make him lose office. There was always a hope for that.

Maybe she wouldn't need the SeeD's just yet.


	10. Be Someone's Light

**Author's Note: **So, I'm actually super ahead writing compared to where I'm posting. So I'm going to go on a bit of a posting spree this week in an attempt to lessen that gap. Which'll be super great for all of you reading chapter-to-chapter, because it means less waiting! I do appreciate reviews, so if you're reading and you're enjoying, or have any questions, go ahead and leave a review! I don't usually respond to reviews on fanfic, because I like the answers to be available for all to see, so I usually respond on my blog. (Link on my profile.) Check out the blog anyway, for interesting stuff about each individual chapter. Anyway, more personal questions or things that might involve spoilers, or other reasons will prompt me to respond via fanfic's pm system. (Basically, that was me rambling on for forever saying to leave a review for whatever reason.) Now, for the chapter! Enjoy!

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_Nibelheim: Tifa, Age 13_

"Do you really mean it?" Tifa asked excitedly.

The owner of the place nodded. "What with all the monsters showing up and people leaving to go become SOLDIER in Midgar, we have an opening for tour guides. I know you really wanted the position, so I was just waiting for you to apply again."

"Oh goodness! This is so exciting!" Tifa exclaimed. "When do I start?"

"How's next week sound?"

"I'll be here bright and early!"

"Excellent!"

Tifa squealed once more before leaving the building. She practically danced out into the streets—spinning as she went.

She had a job! She could pay for her training with Zangan without help from her father. She'd been glad that her father had agreed to pay for the lessons—once he agreed to it. Zangan gave her more free lessons than he should have. Tifa was very grateful for Zangan's offer before they finally convinced her father that lessons were a good idea. But Tifa always felt bad that Zangan was devoting so much of his time to her and he wasn't getting paid, when he could just as easily have a different _paying _student.

Tifa headed directly to Zangan's house so she could tell him the good news. He would share her excitement because he knew Tifa wanted this. There was no point running to tell her father at the present moment, he was in a council meeting right now and this did not constitute as a life or death situation and thus there was no need to interrupt him. She could tell him and dinner tonight. He would hopefully be excited, too. If nothing else, it meant money he didn't have to spend.

Things were finally looking up. She had a job! She and her father were getting along better. If nothing else, he'd complaining about Cloud and his mother. Honestly, if this round of applications at the Mt. Nibel Tour Guide Hut hadn't gone through, Tifa was seriously considering trying for a job at Mrs. Strife's Soup Kitchen. But everything had gone through and she was a tour guide! Nothing against Mrs. Strife, but Tifa would much rather be a tour guide than a cook. Her personality was suited to it better.

Plus, she was finally getting to hang around Cloud again. Now that her father had stopped complaining about him, Tifa was more free to spend time with Cloud—at least outside of her house. Sure, Cloud was still the "weird" kid that all the rest of her friends talked badly about, but she did her best to shush them, saying they just didn't understand him, but if they tried, they'd really get to like him.

Unfortunately, one of them told her that Cloud wasn't too nice to new people. She had taken that response with a sigh. It was true. Cloud just wasn't a people person. But that didn't mean people got to talk badly about him. She quelled most bad-talk about him as fast as she could. She supposed she didn't have to, but she cared about Cloud.

She should tell Cloud about her new job. Frankly, she should tell all of her friends, but she felt that Cloud would actually care about it. Sure, her other friends would be happy for her, but Cloud would _get _it.

She was debating this when she saw him on the street, obviously coming back from the shooting range. He'd gotten a job there a few months ago, cleaning guns and showing people who went to the range how to use them. Tifa hadn't known Cloud knew how to use a gun, but apparently he did, well enough at least to teach other people how to use them.

Of course, Tifa knew that Cloud preferred the elegance of a sword to the randomness of a gun. But, hey, a job's a job.

"Cloud!" she called, hoping he could hear her.

He did hear her. He turned and when he saw her, she thought she saw the smallest bit of a smile on his face.

"Hey, guess what!" she said.

"What?" he asked.

"I got a job!"

"Oh, really?" Cloud asked. "Where at?"

"As a tour guide for Mt. Nibel!"

"That's great, Tifa," Cloud said. He was excited for her! Tifa just _knew _he'd get it.

"Isn't it?" she asked.

"You be careful on that mountain, though," Cloud warned, his voice taking a serious tone.

Tifa smacked him on the arm playfully, banishing his sourer mood. "Of course I will, silly. Besides, I won't have you there to protect me. I'll _have _to be careful."

"Yeah, or you'll lose your job."

It took Tifa a second to realize that Cloud was joking too, in his own weird way. She sighed and rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm really glad you got the job though," Cloud said. "I know it means a lot to you."

"It does!" Tifa said, excitement creeping back into her voice. "What worries me, though, is that the only reason the position opened up is because so many people are leaving Nibelheim to go become SOLDIER or something—because of all the monsters we've had recently."

Cloud frowned. "Well, we have had a lot of monsters recently. I'm not even sure what those little black ones are."

"Those ones with the yellow eyes?" Tifa asked. "Yeah, I don't know either. I can usually get the little ones, but I have to avoid them if there's any big ones, or more than three."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, I only go after them if I've got one of these on me." He hefted the rifle in his hands. "It definitely comes in handy—but boy, those things are tough!"

"Is that your gun?" Tifa asked. "Or is it just for work."

"Technically," Cloud said, drawing out the world. "It's work's. But I convinced my boss that since we _do _have all these monsters roaming around, and since I don't have any other means of getting rid of them at the moment, I should be allowed to carry this thing to and from work, so long as I promise not to use it on anything besides a monster. I think he agreed because it's almost a form of free pest control. I'm conservative with ammo."

Tifa raised her eyebrows, slightly impressed. "You should take lessons from Zangan, then you wouldn't need a gun," she joked. "And that's _free _ammo."

Now it was Cloud's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm good with this for now. You keep learning how to beat things up with your fists."

"It's a very useful skill," Tifa insisted.

"And I believe you. It's just not my thing. At some point, I'd really like to get myself a nice, good sword."

"You would," Tifa said.

Cloud shrugged. "I would. And hey, free ammo."

Tifa smiled. Swords did constitute as free ammo, just as much as fists did. And Cloud really liked the idea of a sword.

"I hope you manage to get a really nice sword," Tifa said, making sure her voice was as sincere as her true thoughts on the manner.

Cloud grinned wistfully. "Me too. Just, they're expensive. But, I've been saving up money from each paycheck to put towards a really good sword. I want to have one before I go out adventuring."

Tifa frowned. "You're still planning that, aren't you?"

Cloud nodded.

Tifa furrowed her brows. "But why, Cloud?" she asked. "Please tell me you're at least not going out to become SOLDIER? I'm not entirely sure what all Shinra's up to, but I don't think it's good. And SOLDIERs are Shinra's pets, practically."

"There are a lot of good people in SOLDIER though," Cloud argued. "Legends, even. Tell me I'm not the only one who's thought about being one of them."

"Cloud," Tifa pleaded. "Please don't go into SOLDIER. If you do have to leave, just let it be for an adventure and nothing more. Don't go getting any crazy ideas to become something that you're not."

Cloud's face showed that hint of a smile. "I promise you, Tifa, I will chase only my dreams. I won't become someone that I'm not."

Tifa wanted to tell him to wait for her before going out adventuring. She was getting a lot better with lessons from Zangan. She could take on most average monsters, and the fact that she could take on three of those black things with the yellow eyes said a lot, in her opinion. But she couldn't bring herself to say anything about it. She and Cloud had only just begun building their friendship now that her father was off their case. If she told Cloud that she wanted to go with him adventuring, it might ruin everything they'd built. Part of her reminded her that she had until he got a sword anyway. It sounded like he wasn't going to be leaving without a sword. Which meant Tifa still had some time to bring up the subject of going along. Maybe she could be better by then. Maybe Cloud would view her as a good adventuring buddy.

"Well," Cloud said, interrupting her from her thoughts. "I need to be getting home. My mom'll be waiting."

Tifa nodded. "Okay. I'll see you around."

Cloud almost smiled again and nodded as well. "See you."

He gave a little two-finger salute and walked away. Tifa stood there for a few moments, watching him. Then she headed off to Zangan's place, which was still her eventual destination.

She tried to get her spirits back up. She had a job. She'd just had a fairly decent conversation with Cloud. Granted, he was talking about leaving again, which now seemed like an ever-present thing, as opposed to a pipe-dream. There was something oddly depressing about that.

Thankfully, by the time she got to Zangan's, she'd managed to lift her spirits. The promise of a new job, and thus pay to cover her lessons, and the thought of not being a burden to her father as far as that was concerned. Those were all happy thoughts. Good thoughts. Hey, even _talking _to Cloud about normal things was a good thing.

"Someone is in a good mood," Zangan said, putting tea in the kettle.

"I got a job!" Tifa told him.

He raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Oh really? Do tell me all the details."

"It's at Mt. Nibel—the tour guide position!"

"That one you've been wanting?"

"Yes! They had an opening! The owner said he was practically reserving it for me!"

"That is wonderful news," Zangan said. "I know how much you've been wanting a job—but especially that job."

Tifa nodded. "Now I won't have to worry about my dad stopping payment for the lessons."

"Now, Tifa," Zangan said. "You and I know your father wouldn't actually do that now that he's agreed to pay in the first place. He has to keep a good name, being on the Council and all."

"Yeah," Tifa agreed. "I supposed that's true."

"Anyway," Zangan said, changing the subject. "How goes the rest of your life?"

"Well," Tifa said, laughing a little. "Mostly it's that I just got a job, honestly. I mean, school's not in session at the moment, so I have a lot of free time. I've been practicing a lot, actually. I've gotten really good at fighting against a lot of the smaller monsters. And I can take on a few of those black ones without too much trouble."

Zangan frowned. "Ah yes, those 'black ones'."

"What about them?" Tifa asked.

"Darkness," Zangan answered.

"They're made out of darkness?" Tifa asked, skeptical.

"Darkness, or something close to that," Zangan said.

"How can something be made out of darkness?" Tifa asked.

Zangan shook his head, not knowing. "Whatever it is that they are made out of, it is pure darkness, blackness, evilness—that which seeks to destroy all Worlds." His voice was grave and quiet.

Tifa wasn't sure what to make of that. Why would something want all that sort of destruction?

She didn't get very far in her thoughts. The teakettle went off. Zangan took it off the fire and poured both of them a cup. Tifa sipped her tea slowly, the way that was supposed to calm her. She wasn't sure if it worked, or if it was something that took practice, like a lot of other things Zangan taught. He didn't just teach her kicks and punches, but an entirely different mentality that went along with the muscle memory.

"Something looks like it's bothering you," Zangan observed.

"Thinking about the black monsters," Tifa said. "About how they seek to destroy so many things. Why does such a thing exist?"

"Because the Worlds are broken," Zangan replied.

"Maybe I can fix them," Tifa said.

Zangan laughed. "As bright of a girl as you are, Tifa," he said. "I think it will take more than just you to fix the worlds."

"I'll get some of my friends to help," Tifa said with a shrug. "Or I'll find other people who want to fix them as much as I do."

Zangan quieted his laughter. "Then remember this, Tifa, darkness is most afraid of the light. But beware, the closer you are to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."

Tifa sat there, chewing on these tidbits of information. They were no doubt important.

"Remember also, that sometimes, the best thing that you can do, is to cut darkness down in smaller ways. Be someone's light. You don't have to fight all the darkness at once, just smaller parts of it to weaken it."

Tifa nodded. "I think I understand."

Zangan smiled.


	11. Unconventional Thing

**Author's Note: **Not much to say, just that I have a ton of stuff happening at once here! It was super fun to parse out. Anyway... as for as time placement for this chapter, it's been quite a while since the last time we saw Rinoa. Several months, I would say. As in comparison to everything else that's going on, I'd say this happens fairly simultaneously with what happened last chapter, maybe a week or two after if we're being picky. Anywho, that's all I'll say here, the rest will go in the blog.

* * *

_Timber: Rinoa, Age 17_

"Now would be a really good time for some magic!" Zone growled as they came up against a dozen darkness monsters.

Unlike average monsters that showed up in groups of three or four, these darkness ones came in droves.

"I don't have any!" Rinoa called back.

"What do you mean, you don't have any?" Zone asked, panic seeping into his voice.

"I haven't been by any Draw Points recently, I haven't picked any up. I'm not some Sorceress with unlimited magic at my disposal!"

Rinoa had done research on para-magic, to see if maybe she could utilize it, since she obviously wasn't a Sorceress. A person could get para-magic from a Draw Point, but they needed a Guardian Force to even _see _the Draw Point in the first place. No one in the Forest Owls actually had a Guardian Force (though everyone but Rinoa thought that Angelo was one) so no one was going to question Rinoa saying that she hadn't seen any.

Amy was quietly killing the darkness monsters with her knife and Zone went back to shooting them. Rinoa made sure her pinwheel blaster edge was loaded correctly and shot it off. It hit one of the monsters and killed it. The pinwheel came right back to her and she smiled. She'd finally perfected that part.

When all the monsters were gone, Rinoa passed out potions.

"Well, at least you're still good for something," Zone muttered.

Rinoa sighed. Sometimes, Zone made her feel so useless now that she didn't have magic anymore. Sure, she still got sent on missions, considering she was still the best person to go into Galbadia, hands down. Still though, she felt that with the lack of magic, she was letting the group down somehow.

"Just ignore him," Amy told her. "He's just upset that these monsters are interfering with our plans to stop Galbadia's plans."

Rinoa's mind started whirring. "What if we had help?"

"What?" Amy asked. "With the monsters, or with our political issues with Galbadia?"

"Both!"

"Are you talking about SeeD's again?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I talk about them?" Rinoa asked.

Amy nodded. "All the time. 'The SeeD's can do this!' and 'The SeeD's could help with that!' Rinoa, we're in Timber, the SeeD's don't come around here."

"That's because they're not asked!" Rinoa argued. "I've got an idea. I'll announce it at dinner."

Rinoa started putting the pieces of her plan into place. She'd been thinking about it for a while, about getting SeeD help. Actually, she'd been thinking about trying to become a SeeD herself, but then she kept getting distracted with Forest Owl operations. Now, however, with the darkness monsters stopping up all of their plans, and the political turmoil between Galbadia and Timber not getting better, Rinoa realized that she needed SeeD help. She'd announce her idea at dinner, where everyone could put it to a vote.

xx

"I really think it'll work, guys," she said, making sure she didn't talk with a mouthful of food. Zone got on Watt's case for it and Rinoa didn't want any distractions if she could avoid it.

"The SeeD's could certainly help us with monster maintenance. Then we could spend more time on our operations against Galbadia. Better yet, maybe we could contract the SeeD's to help us with that, too. There's not enough of us to do both, all of us can see that. We need just a little boost of help and we can do this."

"But that's hiring people to do the dirty work for us," Smarmy argued.

"Newsflash," Reggie interrupted. "There's not enough of us and Rinoa just said that. She's the strategist and if she thinks this idea will work, I'm all for it."

Smarmy shrugged. Rinoa looked at Amy.

"I think it could work," she said. "But we'd need to get SeeD support."

"Let me go to Balamb by myself. I surprisingly have a connection there, I think."

"You think?" Zone asked.

"It's complicated. I tried to become SeeD before I came here, but my dad messed that up. I know a person who might be at least willing to listen to my case."

Technically, _she _had messed it up with that outburst of magic, but they didn't need to know that.

"All the way to Balamb though," Watts mused. "Will you be good by yourself?"

Rinoa sighed. "Yes. I'll be fine. I'll take Angelo, and hey, maybe I can find a Draw Point and get some magic while I'm at it."

"Seems like the best shot we've got," Amy said. "We can't keep going on like this. We're getting nothing done."

Rinoa looked between Zone and Watts.

"I think it's a good idea," Watts said. "To be completely honest.

Zone nodded and Rinoa breathed a sigh of relief.

"You should consider renting a Chocobo or a car, though. Balamb's a long way."

"I'll get a car," Rinoa said. "I'll leave in the morning, if that's all right?"

No one had any arguments.

xx

So, in the morning, Rinoa hefted her bag and headed out. She took only the necessities: a couple changes of clothes, her blaster edge, some potions, lots of munny. Then she rented a car and told Angelo she had to sit in back. The dog didn't seem to mind too much. Then Rinoa drove off.

Thankfully, the car prevented her from running into too many enemies. Most monsters were afraid of the car. However, the darkness monsters didn't seem to care that Rinoa was in something larger than them. It probably had something to do with the fact that a lot of them seemed to be made of machine themselves. This was a new development, and one Rinoa wasn't sure she liked.

The darkness monster problem across the World might actually be worse than the political problems in Galbadia. The monsters didn't stop as she neared Balamb. They were everywhere. It made Rinoa uneasy.

She got to Balamb City with more or less no problem. She turned the car in to the rental car place there and walked to the Garden itself from there. It wasn't hard and no one gave her any trouble. However, once she walked into the Garden, she realized she didn't really know what she was doing. She'd been so focused on getting too Balamb Garden that she hadn't really planned out the rest of her idea.

A blond boy with a tattoo on his face came up to her.

"Hello, there," he said, grinning. "Can I help you with something?"

"Um, yes," Rinoa said, trying not to fidget. "I'm looking for Quistis." Rinoa stumbled over the name a bit. It had been a while since she'd last seen the girl. Was Quistis even still here?

The boy looked at her a tad skeptically, then motioned for her to follow him.

"That easy?" Rinoa murmured.

"Well sure," the boy said. "If you're here to see Quistis, there must be a reason."

Quistis must get this a lot.

"I'm Zell, by the way," the boy said. "And you are?"

"Rinoa."

He nodded. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

He led her through several hallways and courtyards and Rinoa realized there was no way she was getting out without help, lest she get lost. Angelo padded along by her feet, looking pleased about the adventure she was on.

Zell stopped in front of a classroom and peered in.

"Shoot, she's teaching. What do you need to speak to her for?"

"It's nothing terribly urgent," Rinoa said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Just a potential commission in regards to a small political group and some darkness monsters."

"Darkness monsters!" Zell exclaimed. "Why didn't you say so before?"

He slipped into the classroom. Rinoa strained to hear him.

"Hey, Quistis!"

"Zell! What have I told you about interrupting me?"

"But darkness monsters! Someone's here to talk to you about them!"

Rinoa caught a glimpse of Quistis moving out from behind the podium and then follow Zell out of the classroom. Rinoa bit her lip and smoothed down her jacket.

"What's this about Heartless?" Quistis asked, pushing her glasses up on her nose as she came through the door. Then she got a proper look at Rinoa.

"Do I know you?" she asked, frowning.

"You tried to recruit me a couple of years ago," Rinoa said timidly. "But I had to go do something else at the time. I actually came here as a representative for the Timber Forest Owls, hoping I could get some SeeD help with our… Heartless, did you call them?... problem."

"So it's not just in the Balamb vicinity," Quistis said gravely. "It's the whole World."

"I had wondered that as I drove over here," Rinoa said. "So are you saying you won't be able to help?"

"Not yet, no," Quistis said. "Come, let us speak to the Headmaster. Given how the Heartless appear to be all over the place, we may have something big on our hands."

"Mission?" Zell asked, perking up. "I haven't been out in the field since my field test!"

Quistis rolled her eyes.

"If you would come with me," she said. "We need to speak with the headmaster."

So Rinoa and Zell followed Quistis through more hallways to an office that Rinoa could have guessed was the Headmaster's office even if Quistis hadn't already mentioned that it was.

Quistis knocked on the door. There was no response.

"Sir," Quistis said. "This is important."

"Come in, Quistis," came the Headmaster's voice.

Rinoa wasn't quite sure, but she thought she saw Quistis roll her eyes. The three of them walked in the room.

The Headmaster was staring at a TV screen, almost in shock. Rinoa recognized the city of Galbadia, specifically the main city square. She saw President Deling as well as the lady who had recently started becoming popular: Edea. She'd allied herself with the president for some reason. Why, Rinoa and the rest of the Owls had yet to figure out. It was certainly something they were working on, but they hadn't gotten any information on it yet. They were hoping they could use Edea as a means to take down the president, but they weren't sure if Edea would work with them on that or not.

"See," Edea was saying. "Look how they listen to my command! I can teach you how to do the same!" She was petting a Heartless on the head. It just sat there, almost trance-like, not doing anything else.

Someone in the crowd must have asked a question, for Edea's response was clearly an answer.

"What do I do if they stop listening to me? Well, I kill them, just like you all have been doing." As she said this, she killed the Heartless sitting next to her with a swift Blizzard spell.

Rinoa almost felt bad for the little thing, it wasn't causing any trouble and she said she had it under control…

"What's going on?" Zell asked.

"Sir, I believe that woman just used magic," Quistis said. "Not para-magic, either, otherwise I wouldn't bring it to your attention."

"Oh, she's a Sorceress," the Headmaster said, his voice strained.

"Sir, what should we do?" Quistis asked.

"She must be stopped," the Headmaster said, turning to look at them for the first time. If he thought anything odd of Rinoa standing there, he said nothing.

"Just say the word," Quistis said. "I'll go out there and…"

The headmaster shook his head. "Quistis, she cannot simply be killed. Sorceresses must be contained."

"Headmaster Cid," Quistis began. "This entire Garden is trained to deal with Sorceresses appropriately. You could send any one of us…"

Headmaster Cid stopped her again. "Quistis, this is a special case. She has too much darkness surrounding her. Not only will handling her require the knowledge of several SeeDs, but also someone who has experience in handling darkness."

Rinoa pursed her lips. From the sounds of it, the Owls needed to not approach Edea. She wanted to volunteer the Owls to help in a take-down, but none of them were _really _all that equipped to handle darkness, considering they were struggling with it so much as it was.

Headmaster Cid dug around in his desk drawer. He pulled out a little crystal shard and handed it to Quistis.

"This is a star shard, they are known to be able to take the holder across Worlds. If you choose to take on this mission, I want you to go looking for someone who has the experience of handling darkness. I must stay here and ensure that no one goes after Edea and gets harmed."

"Sir," Quistis said, looking skeptically at the crystal in her hand. "Are you sure this will work?" She sounded like she almost wanted to laugh.

Rinoa didn't blame her, she was skeptical as well.

"Sounds fun," Zell exclaimed, before Headmaster Cid had a chance to answer. He linked one arm around Rinoa, and another arm around Quistis while simultaneously grabbing the shard out of her hand. Rinoa had just enough time to grab a hold of Angelo before she felt a tug and they were pulled away.

Whether or not the crystal was going to take them to someone who could help, it was certainly taking them _somewhere._

Rinoa could only hope it was somewhere useful.


	12. A Kairi in Common

**Author's Note: **So this happens at about the same time as the previous chapter. It actually happens a few days before, if I'm being picky. I had problems placing these, the tumblr will tell you. It doesn't really matter until the next two chapters, anyway. Anyway, enough of me babbling, enjoy!

* * *

_Traverse Town: Aerith, Age 15_

"But Aerith, I don't _want _to go to school," Yuffie whined. "I would much rather just go to the store and do all those other errands with you."

Aerith sighed. She couldn't let Yuffie skip school again. She'd let her skip last week and then felt really bad about it. Yuffie was still young enough to warrant _going _to school. Just because they lived in an ever-changing town did not mean that Yuffie got to miss out on a valuable education.

Traverse Town was turning into a more permanent residence than Cid originally planned. Getting out of Traverse Town wasn't very possible when they didn't have a good means of transportation. Cid's invention really was a one-way trip. Sure, he was working on something else, or trying to track down something else—but transportation between Worlds that would rather be closed off was a difficult thing. Squall worked for the hotel that they stayed at in order to pay their "rent". Mostly, he did pest control in that area of town. He was working on fashioning himself a bigger, stronger weapon—a gunblade, he called it. Aerith made sure there was food for everyone. Cid researched. Yuffie went to school.

There was this very nice lady, a traveler herself (everyone was a traveler in Traverse Town), who set up a little schoolhouse and taught children of all ages. Yuffie was about the median age of the people she taught. The teacher reminded Aerith a little bit of Kairi's grandmother. In the evenings, she taught stuff for adults. Aerith went sometimes, not that she considered herself an adult, not really. But the material was more suited to someone her age. Sometimes she dragged Squall—right, Leon—along. A lot of people thought that Squall, ugh—Leon!—and Aerith were a couple. They weren't. They may be very fond of each other and cared about each other very much, but they were more like siblings than anything else.

Leon at least, was not as bad about going to school as Yuffie was. And he didn't need it! He did a lot of his own research on Worlds falling into darkness and how to prevent/cope/stop/reverse/etc. to qualify for a decent education.

Aerith sighed. Yuffie listened to her best. "Listen, Yuffie, you _need _to go to school, just like you did in Radiant Garden. I know it's a lot different here, but _try_ at least, for me?"

Yuffie pouted.

"Fine!" she said, after a moment.

Aerith breathed an internal sigh of relief. Todays' argument wasn't going to be so bad.

"Come on then," she said, extending out her hand to the young girl. "Let's go."

Yuffie took her hand and allowed Aerith to walk her all the way to the school building. She reluctantly went inside and Aerith allowed herself a smile. It was getting easier to smile these days. Even after everything.

Aerith adjusted the basket she used to get food on her hip and made her way to the small market that Traverse Town kept up. She needed to get food for dinner. She bought food every other day, what with the way Leon made munny. She was considering perhaps fashioning herself a weapon to do some pest control of her own for some extra munny to go around between the four of them. Maybe she'd make herself a good staff. Staffs were good weapons for both melee and channeling magic. Her magic casting was getting much better. She had a pretty good grasp on all the basic elemental spells and her Cures were getting a lot better. It was comforting.

She made her way through the market street, picking up fruits and vegetables. Maybe she'd make potato stew tonight. Those potatoes were cheap. Oh, and she needed to remember to get milk before she was done. Yuffie liked milk and it was a good source of protein.

As Aerith was examining some bananas, she heard a *crash* behind her. She turned around, frowning. Wondering what might have happened. Had enemies attacked the market? Traverse Town did get a lot of Heartless and it was just a matter of getting rid of the little ones before any bigger ones showed up.

Thankfully, no Heartless had showed up to crash today's market. However, a boy not much older than her with jet-black hair and a sword had fallen into a pile of crates. Seeds and pellets were scattered everywhere now.

"I'm so sorry!" he said looking around at the damage. "I'm really sorry, let me help you clean up!"

That particular shopkeeper, an older gentleman, batted the boy away with his cane. "Not necessary," he snapped. "I'll get it." The shopkeeper went to work.

The boy looked very bewildered, then looked up, as if that was where he had fallen from. Not that there was anything up there for him to _have _fallen from. Aerith suspected there was something much more complicated going on here. She paid for a bunch of bananas and then walked over to the newcomer.

"Hello," she said.

He spun around quickly, looking very startled. Thankfully, he hadn't been startled enough to go for the sword on his back. Aerith's protection spells still needed a little bit of work. When he got a good look at her, he relaxed.

"Hullo," he replied.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" Aerith asked, cocking her head to one side.

He scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you see… um… well, it's a bit…"

"If you're worried about spreading the news about other Worlds, you don't have to worry about that here, all of us are from other Worlds, or at least know they exit."

There were some Worlds that did not know about other Worlds, or chose to forget for some reason. Sharing news about other Worlds to them could bring darkness and the breakdown of the boundaries between Worlds. Traverse Town, however, did not have to worry about that sort of thing.

"Let's maybe get out of the market," Aerith said with a little bit of a laugh. "You look a little bewildered."

"Star shards'll do that to you," he said, holding his head.

Aerith put a hand on his back, just to the side of his sword. "Come on, let me help you."

She led him out of the market and into a less crowded portion of the town—right in front of the church—so they could talk.

"My name's Aerith," she said calmly.

"I'm Zack," the boy said, finally seeming to have gotten his bearings.

"How did you get here?" Aerith asked. "You said something about a star shard?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. I'm using it to get around right now. Usually, I've got a friend who's got this…" he scratched his head. "Well, it's a wing. And we use that to get from World to World. However, he's off doing something so I figured I'd bounce around a few Worlds while he's at that. I forget that star shards jar your brain a little."

He pulled a little piece of crystal out of his pocket. "See, it's really nifty."

"And it gets you from World to World," Aerith said, reaching out her hand. She recoiled at the last second, just in case the star shard did what it was intended to do. She wasn't sure entirely how it worked yet.

"Oh, you can touch it," Zack said. "I'd have to activate it if I wanted to go somewhere."

"How do you activate one?" Aerith asked.

Her mind was working overtime in the background. This was such a simple little thing and it could get from World to World with seemingly no problem. What if they could get their hands on one or two? They could go home!

Aerith stopped herself. According to both Cid and Leon, once the darkness took a World, there wasn't much of the World left. And if there was, it certainly wasn't anything like the World it was before.

"You basically just wish for someplace, someone, or something, and it takes you there."

Aerith's eyes widened at the possibilities.

"Right?" Zack replied with a laugh.

"Where did you get it?"

Zack thought for a moment. "Honestly, I can't remember the place. I just remember that I was contemplating how I was going to get from World to World without help _years _ago. And this little girl mentioned 'star shards'. I don't even think she had any clue what it was she was talking about. Best advice ever, though."

Aerith was presented with an image Kairi. Her grandmother had said she'd been talking about star shards without really knowing what they were. Aerith almost wanted to ask Zack if it was the same girl. Not that it would help, he'd apparently been looking for a star shard years ago, and the darkness took Radiant Garden just over one year ago. The other option was that Zack had been in Radiant Garden. She may just have to ask him about that later, but for the moment, there were other things pressing in her mind.

"I know someone who might be interested in that sort of thing," Aerith said, trying to keep her voice calm. "He's… well, he's a friend of mine. We've been sticking together since our World fell into darkness."

Zack's mouth dropped open. "Your World fell into darkness?"

Aerith nodded gravely.

"Whoa, that's… that's terrible," he said. But his voice didn't quite match his words, he sounded too…intrigued by the whole idea. Then he flushed. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know that must be awful. It's just, I've heard that that sort of thing happens now, I just never met someone who…" He trailed off and looked at his shoes. He kicked the ground with his boots absently.

Aerith looked at the basket in her hands. Ugh. She still needed to get milk.

"Anyway," Zack said. "You have a friend who'd be interested in my star shard? I can't give it up, but I could let him look at it, I suppose. Or tell him what I know about them."

"That would be fine," Aerith said. "I think he would like that. Why don't you come over for dinner or something? We can all talk about it then. Or, I mean, unless you're in a rush to get somewhere."

Zack shook his head. "Nah, usually when I go to a World, I stay as long as I'm needed. I'm a mercenary, well, a self-employed one, anyway. I go someplace, I do what I can to help around for a bit, and then I move on."

"That's an interesting way to live your life," Aerith said.

Zack shrugged. "I kind of like it. Though, it does mean I really only have one good friend. The guy with the wing. Yeah. Anyway, how long until dinner?"

Aerith looked at her watch. "Well, it's still morning. I've got errands to run and a few other things to do around the hotel…"

"Lunch," Zack announced.

"Hmm?" Aerith asked.

"Lunch. Have you eaten lunch yet?"

Aerith shook her head.

"Did you have plans for lunch?"

Aerith shook her head again.

"How about you and I grab a bite to eat now. My treat."

"You don't have to," Aerith said. "I have things back at the hotel and…"

"No, really, I want to. You're, like, the nicest girl I've ever met. And there's just something about you that I really like. Of course, if you really don't want to, I'll understand. Though, I may just stick around with you for the day, since I don't know where you live."

"It's not that hard," Aerith said. "I stay in one of the permanent rooms in the hotel…"

Aerith paused. What was the point of sending Zack, who had nothing to do it seemed, away, when she was just going to have him over for dinner later? It's not like him taking her out to lunch would be that big of a waste of time and she'd get behind on the things she needed to do. In fact, him buying her lunch would probably be quicker than her going home and preparing herself one.

"You know what," she said. "Let's go to lunch. I think it would be lovely."

Zack grinned. "You sure?"

Aerith nodded.

"Cool!" Zack exclaimed. "Where would you like to eat? Pick a place."

Aerith thought about this. She didn't frequent a lot of the restaurants and pubs around Traverse Town. They didn't have the spare munny at the moment. But there was one little café that was just so quaint and she'd always wanted to eat at it.

"Follow me," she said to Zack. "I know just the place."

Zack followed her without any sort of question. Aerith led him to the café and they were seated. They got a couple of strange looks, but Aerith ignored them. There were newcomers all the time, Zack was no different.

"So, you mentioned that you live in a hotel?" Zack asked.

Aerith nodded. "There's only so much housing in Traverse Town because it's an in-between World of sorts, everyone's always coming or going. There's a housing district, but we just haven't gotten a place there, don't really have the munny or the materials. The hotel is more central in town, anyway. And the hotel owner basically lets us stay there for cheap so long as Leon does pest control."

"Leon?"

"Yeah, another one of my friends. He's the one who rescued me and Yuffie from the darkness. Between him, Cid, and I, we manage to look out for Yuffie. I used to babysit her back in Radiant Garden…"

"Radiant Garden!" Zack exclaimed. "That's the place I got the star shard."

Aerith sat back in her seat, a wry smile growing on her face.

"I wondered about that."

Zack cocked his head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"Kairi's the girl who told you about the star shards."

"How do you know?"

"She's a red headed girl, bright blue eyes, has a necklace around her neck?"

"Um, sounds about right," Zack said, scratching his head.

"Yeah, that's Kairi. I used to babysit her, too."

"Funny!"


	13. Wear Pink More Often

**Author's Note: **Reminder! Review Responses are on the blog! :) Now, for more Zerith.

* * *

_Traverse Town: Zack, Age 16_

Zack had a completely wonderful afternoon with Aerith. He helped her go shopping, though really all they had to do was double-back and grab milk, which she hadn't grabbed earlier because he'd come crashing down into the market. He helped her with chores around the house, including shooing a few Heartless out. Surprisingly, his sword wasn't of much use—Aerith usually got to them with a bit of Blizzard magic before he could even draw the thing.

Then he met Leon. Aerith had mentioned that Leon was like a brother of sorts, but she spoke about him with such admiration that he couldn't help but be a little jealous. He wasn't even sure why he was so jealous. It's not like he and Aerith were any more than just acquaintances. She'd helped him out back there in the market and he'd returned the favor by paying for her lunch. But there was just something so endearing about this girl who had so little possessions but so much responsibility, yet she carried it all in such a carefree manner.

Leon seemed to carry all the troubles of their situation for them. He was broody and always wore a scowl. Zack sincerely hoped that Aerith didn't actually like him and wasn't saying anything, because he couldn't bear to think about someone so happy ending up with someone so mopey.

Zack went with Aerith to pick up Yuffie from school. Yuffie was a rambunctious little girl, who was insisting at the moment that she was the Great Ninja Yuffie. When Zack commented on that, Aerith informed him it was something she usually did. He went along with her ninja-antics and she seemed to take a liking to him. That was comforting. It certainly made things easier when Aerith threw him out of the very small kitchenette the hotel room had so she could cook dinner. Zack tossed a ball back and forth with Yuffie while Leon sat in the corner, tinkering with his weapon. It looked like a cross between a gun and a sword. Zack wanted to ask questions, but wasn't sure how to bring it up with Leon.

He didn't meet Cid—the person who wanted to know more about the star shard he had in his pocket—until dinner was actually on the table. He had apparently been researching stuff all day regarding darkness and the Worlds. This was also apparently normal.

They didn't discuss much about the star shard at dinner, Aerith seemed very insistent to keep business away from the table during dinner, for Yuffie's sake. Zack got the feeling that Yuffie couldn't have cared less what they talked about at the dinner table, but he went along with it anyway.

Once dinner was cleared, however, Cid asked to see the star shard.

"Just, don't activate it, okay," Zack told him. "I kinda need it."

"How d'yeh activate it?" Cid asked.

"Mostly you just wish to be someplace else."

"Righ'."

Cid examined it right then and there at the dinner table. Not that there was really any other place to do that. There was a smaller table that Yuffie was using to do homework, but the only other horizontal surfaces were beds.

"An' this gets yeh from World teh World?" Cid asked.

Zack nodded.

Cid studied it more and took notes in a little notepad. "Now tha's interesting. I'd be interested teh see if I coul' find more of those. Anyway, wha' brings yeh here?"

"Nothing in particular. I just go from World to World and do what's needed when I get to any given place. Usually, there's monsters to clean up or someone to help."

"There's monsters to clear up here," Leon said, looking up from the book he was reading. "But, there's always monsters."

"I'd be happy to help for a few days," Zack said. "I've got the time to kill. I'm waiting for a friend."

Leon snorted.

"Le' him stay here'n help," Cid said. "Couldn' hur'."

Zack tried to smile at Leon, but he'd gone back to his book.

"Well, if he's going to stay here," Aerith said, coming back over to the table. "I'm going to take him out in the town and show him where they usually tend to show up."

"Will you be okay?" Leon asked, concern in his voice.

"Sure," Aerith said. "I've got a pocket full of ethers. And Zack's got a sword."

Leon didn't need any more explanation than that. Zack felt relieved. Aerith smiled and grabbed his arm. She pulled him up from the table and started leading him out. He started to grab the star shard from off the table, but Cid stopped him.

"D'yeh min' if I study tha' for a bit more?" he asked.

Zack was a little uneasy about the whole thing, but Aerith tugged on his arm.

"Okay," he said, then let himself be dragged away.

xx

"It's not like we have rounds or anything," Aerith said. "Everyone in the town basically manages to get rid of the buggers on their own. But there are some people who look out for more than just their own—Leon's one of them. It's pretty much how we afford the hotel we've got. He does pest control. Between the munny that the Heartless drop and the discount the hotel owner gives us…" she trailed off.

"I see," Zack said.

He walked with his arms crossed, unsure of what to do with them. For some reason, walking next to Aerith, he just couldn't figure it out. Part of him wanted to draw his sword, but there weren't any Heartless around, so there really wasn't any justification for that.

They walked down a set of stairs and Aerith instinctively stepped back onto the first step after stepping onto the ground. As if she had predicted them, three little Heartless appeared. Zack had his sword out and slashed through them easily.

"There," Aerith said. "They usually appear there."

"Whoa," Zack said. "Impressive."

Aerith merely shrugged. On impulse, Zack sheathed his sword and offered out his arm for Aerith to take. She looked at it for a moment, and then slipped her arm in his. Zack smiled.

"There's a few other places where Heartless show up," Aerith said, leading them through an archway. "By that fountain, at the bottom of those stairs. Up there by the clock tower…"

"Do they usually show up inside?" Zack asked.

Aerith shook her head. "Sometimes, they'll follow you in, but they nearly always appear outside. Except in the clock building, they seem to like there for some reason."

"I'll be sure to remember that."

They fell silent for a bit. Zack felt Aerith's pace change from a fast one to a more meandering one.

"You're really okay with staying for a few days?" Aerith asked.

"Well, sure," Zack said. "Like I said, I got nothing else to do."

"Is that really the only reason why you're staying?"

Zack wasn't sure what answer she was looking for.

Before he could come up with an answer, however, she was speaking again. "I really think that's nice of you. The Worlds need more nice people."

Zack flushed and scratched the back of his neck. "Aha, well, uhm… Sure! Really, I don't mind at all, and you guys could really use the help."

Aerith beamed. "A part of me is really glad you're staying," she said. "I mean, I hardly even know you, but I have this really good feeling about you."

Zack grinned.

xx

So, Zack stayed for several days, renting a temporary hotel room at a discount because he knew Aerith and Leon. He helped Leon a lot with Heartless extermination. He even went and spent three hours in the clock building trying to see if he could eradicate all of the Heartless. They seemed to keep springing up though, and so all he really got out of it was a lot of munny. That was okay though. He was going to use some of his hard-earned munny to buy Aerith a gift.

Zack really liked Aerith. Sure, he'd flirted with many girls over the years. But Aerith was different. He _really_ liked her. He wanted to stay in Traverse Town longer, or at least come back and visit frequently. He was going to buy her something. Maybe a hair ribbon…

He stopped being jealous of Leon, because Leon really just was like an older brother to Aerith. He also came across as less mopey the longer Zack got to know him. Or, maybe he was just as mopey, but Zack understood the reasoning behind it so he cut him some slack. Leon wished he could go off and fix the Worlds that were falling into darkness, but he couldn't leave. Partially because he didn't have the means of transportation, and partially because he was needed to help take care of Cid, Aerith, and Yuffie. The four of them looked out for each other. Zack was surprised when Aerith told him one afternoon when it was just the two of them that Leon was actually a little jealous of Zack, because Zack had the opportunity to go out and help the Worlds. Later that day, Zack promised Leon that he would try and save as many Worlds as he could. That actually made Leon smile.

Cid gave Zack back the star shard, after seemingly studying everything he possibly could about it. He vowed to find some of his own or maybe even see if he could make one with the right materials. Then he went back to studying cannons and darkness.

xx

"I should probably be leaving soon," Zack said on the third evening that he was there. "I need to go find my friend and make sure he hasn't been killed without me." He said this all jokingly, but knowing that Angeal had gone out to find Genesis was a bit disconcerting. Especially since Zack was technically in the middle of all that.

"Aw," Yuffie complained. "I wish you would stay longer."

"Certainly has been a help," Leon added.

Cid merely grunted, his mouth being full of food.

Zack looked at Aerith, for it was her response that he really wanted to hear.

"Will you ever visit?" she asked.

"Of course!" Zack exclaimed.

She smiled. "Will you walk around the town with me again after dinner?"

"Of course," Zack said, softer this time, a smile growing on his face.

When everyone finished eating, Zack started clearing up his own stuff, eager to go out walking with Aerith. She'd brought the idea up, and Zack wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. He was surprised when Leon started taking all the dishes.

"Go on, you two," he said, a smirk on his face. "Zack, take care of Aerith."

"Hey!" Aerith said. "I can…"

"Aerith," Leon interrupted. "Take care of Zack."

Aerith stopped mid-sentence and giggled, her hand covering her mouth. Zack really liked it when she laughed.

"I want to go, too!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Not tonight," Aerith told her. "I'll go out walking with you tomorrow evening."

"But I want to go walking with both of you!" Yuffie complained loudly.

"I'll stay till tomorrow morning," Zack said. "We'll go out walking then."

Yuffie pouted, but agreed.

Zack grabbed his sword, just in case and Aerith pocketed a couple of ethers. Then the two of them went outside, arm-in-arm.

"Any particular reason why you wanted to go walking?" Zack asked her.

"I wanted to spend some time with you before you left," she responded. "Just you and me."

"Ah," Zack said, laughing a little.

"You promise to come back and visit?" Aerith said. "You're not just saying that?"

"I'll come back and visit," Zack said, stopping in his tracks in order to look right at Aerith. "To help out, to see you guys…" He paused. He needed to be more specific than that. Aerith needed to know.

"To see you."

"Me?" Aerith said.

"Yeah. You. Aerith…" his words caught in his throat. "Aerith, I like you. A lot…"

He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. She smiled and it reached all the way up to her eyes. She put a finger over his mouth to get him to stop talking.

"I like you, too, Zack," she whispered.

Zack felt like his heart went flying, as if it had grown wings.

"I want to buy you something," he said after a bit. "To commemorate us meeting and all that stuff. What would you like?"

Aerith's eyes widened. "Oh! Well… um…"

"I was thinking maybe a hair ribbon? You do like hair ribbons, don't you?"

Aerith nodded. "Come here, this shop!"

Aerith dragged him into an accessory shop and pointed to a pink hair ribbon. The shopkeeper pulled it out and handed it to her. Zack paid for it.

"Shall I put it in your hair?" he asked. She nodded.

He'd never actually tied a hair ribbon before, but he did his best.

"Did you make sure it won't fly away?" she asked.

"I think so," Zack said.

Aerith patted her head, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you," she said.

"No, thank _you_, for giving me three amazing days! I will look forward to returning here."

She smiled.

Zack cocked his head to one side, thinking for a moment. "You should wear pink more often," he told her. "It looks good on you."

Aerith thought about this for a second. "You really think so?"

"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

She laughed. He laughed as well.


	14. Kids and Dogs

**Author's Note: **Whoopsies! I meant to post yesterday and didn't get to it. Mostly because I spent a good portion of yesterday in a car. Yay, going back to college town! Anyway, I am posting today! Erm, not much more to say than that... I know I have a Leon and a Cloud chapter slated, but this had to go in the middle of them because I have several things happening at once, and needed to show that. So, yeah. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

T_raverse Town: Yuffie, Age 8_

Yuffie stared out the window, watching Zack and Aerith walk away. She frowned. She wanted to go with them. Why couldn't she go with them? Was it because they were going to go out and fight Heartless? Did they think she was too young? Well, the Great Ninja Yuffie was _not_, she repeated, _not _too young. What else could they be doing that she wasn't allowed to tag along for? Seriously. Ugh.

Also, Squall (for Yuffie _refused _to call him Leon) and Cid were _not _the people she wanted to be left with. They made her do chores and stuff. Aerith was nice, even if she did make Yuffie go to school. And Zack was _really _nice. He played with her, and didn't make her do _anything_.

"Yuffie," Cid called. "Is yer homework done?"

"Uh-huh," she replied absentmindedly.

"Yuffie," Cid said, more stern.

She turned around and stamped her heel. "I still have spelling, but…"

"Homework," Cid said, pointing at the table that she used for a desk.

She growled and went over there to start her spelling.

Cid mumbled something about Aerith, but Yuffie didn't catch all of it.

"Was I this bad?" Squall (it bothered him when Yuffie did it, which made her call him that more) asked, coming out of the kitchen-area.

"Yes'n'no," Cid replied, staring at Zack's star shard. Yuffie could have sworn he'd given that back… "Mostly yeh jus' wanted teh help me, which mean' I had to getcha to stop workin' on the cannons and on yer homework instead."

Squall laughed.

Squall then went into the other room, probably to read or something. Cid left as well and Yuffie looked at the door, then back to the room where Squall and Cid were, then back to the door. She could leave and follow Zack and Aerith…

She started to get up, but at that moment, Cid came back into the room, carrying a large book. Yuffie sighed and made it look like she was just shifting. Cid didn't seem to notice, he just opened the book and started comparing the star shard to something in it.

Yuffie finished her spelling. Cid didn't leave the room. She looked back up at Cid and he looked totally engrossed with what he was doing.

The Great Ninja Yuffie could probably sneak out. She _was _a ninja, after all. She stood up, slowly. Cid didn't notice. She made her way over to the door. Cid didn't notice. She was being a really good ninja, just like Zack told her she could be if she really thought about it. She got all the way to the door and Cid hadn't even looked up.

She wished she could go out the other door, that door didn't squeak like this one did, but Squall was in that room, and Squall noticed things that Cid didn't. The Great Ninja Yuffie wasn't sure if she could get past Squall just yet. She might not be a good enough ninja… yet.

She opened the door quietly, Cid didn't even look up. She stifled a giggle and then slipped out the door. She closed it behind her and waited to see if Cid got up or noticed or anything. He didn't. No one moved inside. Yuffie checked to make sure her boomerang was strapped into her belt—just in case she ran into Heartless—and headed off.

The Great Ninja Yuffie was off to a great start for her first mission. She'd successfully escaped the mean ol' men who made her do her homework and was off to find her friends to have a Heartless-killing adventure with them.

xx

_Traverse Town: Cid_

Cid looked at the star shard in his hands, then back at the book in front of him. He was glad to have been able to borrow Zack's star shard again, for he'd finally found a book in Traverse Town's eclectic library that might have some information about the darnded things. The whole reason why it took him so long to find any sort of lead was because nothing was filed under the term: star shard. This here book he had was about gummi blocks. Whatever those were. He checked out the book to find out more about them.

From everything he'd read so far, star shards were a type of gummi block. Or vice-versa, he hadn't figured that out yet. One thing was for certain: this little bugger was good for travelling from World to World. Zack himself had proven that by his personal anecdotes. Though, apparently, the process was a little bumpy. But bumpy travel was better than no travel. Cid's machine he'd built to get out of Radiant Garden had been a miracle piece of work and it could be described as no better than "bumpy."

Despite Zack only having been there for a few days, Cid was taking a liking to him. He was helpful around the place in more ways than one. That kid had somehow managed to help Cid's research about World travel and Squall's Heartless clean-up gig simultaneously. Yuffie liked him, which was more than could be said for just about anyone else outside of Aerith. Plus, Zack and Aerith were growing very close.

But, so help him, he had better be good to Aerith or Cid was going to pour hot tea down his shirt. Or something more painful, he hadn't decided yet. Cid hoped there wasn't going to be any teenage relationship drama. He didn't know how to handle that. He'd make Squall do it, but Squall probably had no more advice than Cid did. Now there's a thought, Squall with a girlfriend. Like that would ever happen.

Cid heard frantic footsteps and looked up from his research. Speaking of Squall…

"Yuffie's gone!" Squall said.

Cid looked around the room. Sure enough, the young girl had disappeared.

"She's no' in the other room?"

Squall shook his head. "She must have gone after Zack and Aerith."

"Go afte' her then," Cid said, pulling a piece of straw from behind his ear and sticking it in his mouth to chew on.

"What about you?"

"Someone's gotta stay here in case she comes back."

Squall groaned. "She's fast, I'll need the…"

"Nonsense," Cid interrupted. "Like I said, someone's gotta stay here. Chances are, she's already foun' Aerith an' Zack. Bu' if they come back withou' her, I'll either go out searchin' myself, or sen' the two o' them back out."

Squall rolled his eyes.

"Best hurry," Cid said, waving him out of the room. "She's already got who-knows-how-long a head start."

"I cannot believe you let her get out," Squall groaned.

"She's a sneaky one," Cid agreed. "Now get!"

Squall grumbled some more, picked up his gunblade, and then headed out, muttering something about Yuffie's boomerang.

"Kids," Cid muttered to himself around the piece of straw. "Can't live with'em, can't live withou'em."

xx

_Traverse Town: Zell, Age 17_

The sensation of travelling via star shard was certainly an unforgettable one. Zell felt himself being bounced around. He had a vague idea that Quistis and the other girl with her dog were being bounced around with him, but he couldn't hear them at all. There was a pulsing and ringing in his ears that he couldn't quite shake.

Suddenly, he was suspended in mid-air. And then he was on the ground. He just barely managed to catch himself, but the wind was knocked out of him regardless. He struggled to breathe. Then he noticed that the ringing was still in his ears. At least the pulsing had stopped.

He looked over to see the other two—three, if you counted the dog. They seemed to be in a similar state of disorientation, just like he was. Then Quistis got up. She looked angry. Crap.

"Zell, that is possibly the most irresponsible thing I have ever been witness to seeing you do!" she spluttered. "It's a wonder we're all okay! Though, I'm not sure if we count as very much okay considering we have no idea where we are or…"

"You're not from around here, are you?" came a small voice. Quistis had just been interrupted by a girl who hardly looked older than eight.

Zell scrambled to his feet. Rinoa, that was the other girl's name, did the same, albeit more gracefully.

Quistis started muttering hastily about how not every World is aware that there are other Worlds out there.

"Hey, sweetie," Rinoa said. "It's nighttime, why aren't you at home with your family?" She crouched back down to be eye-level with the girl.

"It's not _that _late," the girl argued. "Besides, I haven't got a family. I'm out looking for my friends. One's got spikey black hair and the other one has her hair braided."

"I confess we haven't seen them," Quistis said. Zell could tell she was totally out of her element. He snickered, finding this very amusing. Quistis shot him a look.

"We're looking for a hero," Rinoa said, trying to keep a smile on her face. "Do you know where we could find one of those?"

Zell stared at Rinoa in disbelief.

"I am the Great Ninja Yuffie," the girl replied. "I can help you!"

Rinoa looked back at them, wide-eyed. Surely this little girl couldn't be the hero they were looking for. She was too young to have dealt much with darkness.

Then the Heartless showed up.

"Aw, nuts!" the girl said, pulling a boomerang out of her belt. "Why'd you guys have to show up and ruin my fun?"

Rinoa was already adjusting her blaster edge and Quistis pulled out her whip. Zell adjusted the straps on his gloves. However, he didn't get a chance to attack before he saw the girl chuck her boomerang at the nearest Heartless and knock it clean out. Impressive. Then Zell started punching. The sooner they got rid of these things, the better. Not that reasoning with the girl was getting them anywhere, either. But the Heartless seemed more of a step back than forwards. The girl was at least only a standstill.

"Yuffie!" came a very stern voice.

Zell turned and saw its owner. It was a boy probably no older than Zell himself, holding a gunblade like some of the SeeDs did back at the Garden. He looked menacing, and like he knew what he was doing. Rinoa caught Zell's eye. This was their hero.

xx

_Destiny Islands: Kairi, Age 6_

Kairi walked with her father and mother through the town. They were going to buy her new clothes. She was outgrowing most of her sundresses. Again.

"Do you want to look at pretty necklaces?" her mother asked.

Kairi shook her head. "No thanks," she replied. "Mine's good."

Kairi put her hand around the necklace that hung around her neck. It was all she still had of her own home, of her old life that she barely even remembered. She remembered the town with the castle, a girl who always braided her hair, the girl with jet-black hair, a boy with a knife, the blue monsters with the red eyes, the flowers, and her grandmother. But everything was just a jumble of faces and images, nothing more. She was going to keep her necklace. She never took it off.

Kairi was instantly distracted by some pink-and-white flowers. The flowers here were so big and so colorful. Kairi loved them.

"Daddy," she began. "Can I have some flowers, please?"

Her parents exchanged a look, then shrugged.

"I don't see why not," her father replied.

"But after we get you new clothes," her mother said.

"Okay," Kairi said, content.

They sorted through different clothing and Kairi found herself with a new round of sundresses and pretty skirts. She even let her mother buy her some barrettes and some bracelets. Kairi figured that this would make her happy since Kairi wasn't going to ever wear a different necklace.

Kairi was very happy to be with her new parents. They loved her just as much as she remembered her grandmother doing. They took care of her and they even made her go to school, something Kairi supposed was a sign of their love. Most importantly, however, they let her play with the boys that found her: Sora and Riku. Kairi liked both of the boys. They were really nice and happy. She would go off onto a smaller island with them and Sora's dad and the three of them would play for hours.

Kairi got distracted again, this time by a coloring book and some crayons. She bit her lip, she really wanted them, but she was already getting flowers and that was probably too much. She looked up at her parents.

They seemed to have realized what she was thinking. Kairi's mother crouched down to speak with Kairi at eye-level.

"How about we just buy you the crayons and then _one _flower," she said. "You can use the paper we have at home to create your own pictures, and you still get a flower like you wanted."

Kairi's whole face brightened. "Yes, please!"

Kairi selected a medium-sized box of crayons and then followed her parents to the register. Then they'd get her a flower on the way back. Kairi liked this.

On their way home, Kairi saw Sora with his parents. He was eating a popsicle. The minute he saw Kairi, he waved. Kairi waved back.

"Pretty flower!" Sora called.

"Thank you!" Kairi replied. "Tasty ice-cream!"

Sora nodded.

They didn't say more than that, for their parents lead them different directions.


	15. Vote of Confidence

**Author's Note: **And back on the regular schedule! It's pretty obvious where this chapter takes place, so I'll just let you get right to it!

* * *

_Traverse Town: Leon, Age 17_

Leon found Yuffie relatively quickly, to his chagrin. He was half-hoping he wouldn't be able to find her, forcing Cid to take some sort of punishing action—not that it would have worked, Yuffie really only listened to Aerith. Aerith would hear about this regardless. But no, he found Yuffie just chilling around in First District.

She was with three people he didn't recognize, which probably meant they weren't from Traverse Town. Sure, Traverse Town was certainly smaller than Radiant Garden, but after roaming all eight districts day after day after day on Heartless extermination duties, Leon had a pretty good idea of who everybody was.

Yuffie had also managed to attract Heartless. Thankfully, the people she was with weren't cowards and were taking care of the situation. One of the girls, the blonde one, had a whip that cracked every time she hit a Heartless. The Heartless would completely freeze and then she'd hit them again, killing them. The other girl, a brunette, had some sort of circular weapon that functioned not unlike Yuffie's boomerang. The boy had no visible weapon at all, he was just punching the Heartless. Leon took a closer look at Yuffie and saw that she was no longer throwing her boomerang, but merely using it to bash heads.

"Yuffie!" he called out.

Yuffie turned around and saw him. Thankfully, she didn't run away.

"What have we told you about running away?" he asked.

"I wasn't running away!" she argued. "I was just trying to find Aerith and Zack! And then I found these people, and then the Heartless came!"

Leon rolled his eyes. Without thinking twice, he launched himself over the fence that was supposed to keep people from falling off the ledge he'd been standing on. He killed the Heartless surrounding the group in two slashes. When he straightened up and let his gunblade fall to his side, he found that he had four pairs of eyes on him. He nodded awkwardly, then grabbed Yuffie by the arm.

"Come on then," he said. "Zack and Aerith will be back sooner or later. You're not going out to find them. They said they'd take you out walking tomorrow."

Yuffie sighed.

"Excuse me," one of the others said. Leon winced and turned around. It was the brunette girl. "Thank you," she continued. "We're not from around here."

"You're welcome," Leon said gruffly. "I figured as much."

"You'll have to excuse Squall," Yuffie said. "He's just always this mopey. It's nothing personal."

"That's _Leon_," he hissed.

Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"Well, thank you regardless," the girl said, with a little bow of her head.

"They're looking for a hero," Yuffie said, pulling on Squall's arm. "I told them I could help them. You can't make me go back!"

Leon had the desire to massage his temples, but his hands were full.

"I think you'd better come with me," he said, looking at the girl. "So we can get this sorted out."

She smiled, then motioned for her friends to follow.

"I'm Rinoa," she introduced herself. "And these are Quistis and Zell."

Leon nodded at them. "Leon," he said.

"So we heard," Rinoa said, giggling a little.

Oh boy.

Leon was sure not to let go of Yuffie's arm anyway the entire trip back to the hotel. As much as she might want to help these people, she still also wanted to go find Aerith and Zack, Leon had no doubt of that. And the little squirm could very easily get away if no one was holding onto her. He was glad none of the others mentioned anything about it.

They wanted a hero, just what he needed. Yuffie certainly couldn't help them. And Leon wasn't a hero. Maybe he could send Zack with them though. Zack was thinking about leaving anyway. Maybe Zack could just pick up his friend and the two of them could go help these three.

"Oh boy, what now?" Cid asked when the five of them traipsed inside.

"Cid, this is Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell," Leon said. "Yuffie claims they're looking for a hero."

Cid raised an eyebrow and looked between Yuffie and the newcomers. "Are ya, really?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Rinoa said bashfully.

"T'always is," Cid grunted. "Sit down, let's talk."

Leon pulled up another chair, as well as a stool for Yuffie to sit on.

"Don't go anywhere," he warned.

She rolled her eyes. He wished she'd stop doing that.

"So tell us how yeh got here an' how yeh came to need a hero," Cid said.

"Well, our World has become plagued with Heartless," Rinoa said.

"How badly?" Leon asked.

"Enough that it's interfering with daily life," Rinoa replied.

Leon and Cid exchanged worried glances. That's how bad the Heartless had been in Radiant Garden before it was plunged into darkness. Shortly after the Unversed had stopped showing up, the Heartless had. Cid and Leon traced it back to Maleficent, an evil witch who was most certainly responsible for Radiant Garden's fall.

"Worse yet," Quistis added. "We have a Sorceress who is utilizing the darkness to make matters worse." She paused for a second, and then frowned. "What is your opinion on magic-use?" she asked, almost randomly.

For a brief moment, Leon was glad Aerith wasn't around. "Useful tool," he said, a little uneasily. While Maleficent's dark magic was certainly easy to blame for Radiant Garden, spending so much time with Aerith had taught Leon the benefits of magic. Surely not all magic-users were bad. "Why do you ask?"

"Magic is practically banned where we're from," Rinoa answered. "Well, not so much banned as outright feared. Only certain people can use magic, and it's a watered-down form at that. Only Sorceresses can use magic in its raw form."

Quistis shot Rinoa an intrigued look, but Rinoa didn't see. Leon felt there was something more going on than he could figure. He didn't like that.

"In short, Sorceresses are thus dangerous where we're from," Quistis said. "Someone with so much power and so much darkness, our World is in danger."

Leon half-wondered if it was Maleficent they were talking about. Odd coincidence sure, if they were talking about the same person. But Leon had heard of stranger things.

"So why come here?" Cid asked.

"It was the star shard that did it," Zell said, pulling another one of the little things out of his pocket. "The Headmaster told us to wish for a hero and it would take us to one."

Quistis did the facepalming for Leon. He certainly felt that Zell's comment deserved one. Quistis looked at Zell out of the corner of her eye and Leon watched her sigh quite visibly. He tried to keep a smirk off his face at her reaction.

"Look, even if that's the corniest thing ever," Rinoa said. "It appears to have worked. We were brought here and we found you."

Leon groaned. She was looking right at him. "I am _not _the person you're looking for," he said.

Cid burst out laughing.

"I am failing to see what is so funny," Quistis said.

Cid wiped at his eyes. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "Jus', Sq-Leon's righ', he's not the person yer lookin' fer."

"Thanks for your vote of confidence," Leon grumbled.

"Why can't he be a hero?" Yuffie asked. Leon was surprised to hear Yuffie, of all people, say that. "If you just need someone to help you with Heartless, then Squall's your best bet. He kills Heartless on a daily basis here!"

Rinoa and Zell both perked up. Leon bit his lip. He wished Yuffie would stop calling him that…

"We don't just need someone to 'help us' with Heartless," Quistis said briskly. "We need someone who's willing to help us take on a Sorceress and dispose of her accordingly."

Cid caught Leon's eye and gave him a meaningful look. If this Sorceress _was _Maleficent, then Leon going and helping them out may be retribution for what he wasn't able to do in Radiant Garden.

"But if their World still falls into darkness…" Leon began.

"From the soun's of it, it's gonna do tha' anyway," Cid barked. "Better yer there teh help."

Leon massaged his temples. He was going to end up doing this, wasn't he?

Just then, Zack and Aerith walked in.

"You're back!" Yuffie exclaimed.

She ran up and hugged Aerith around the middle.

"She went looking for you," Leon said. "I had to go after her."

Aerith gave Yuffie a stern look. Only then did Yuffie even look the slightest bit apologetic.

"Looks like a party in there though," Zack said, looking at the other three.

"I found them!" Yuffie said. "They're looking for a hero! I think Squall's gonna go. _I'm _gonna go too!"

Aerith looked at Leon, her eyes wide.

"We haven't ironed out the details yet," he said, putting his hands out defensively.

"What's this about a hero?" Zack asked.

"There's a Sorceress who's trying to take over our World with Heartless," Rinoa said, giving a _very _abbreviated version of the story she'd told Leon and Cid.

"Radiant Garden," Leon said.

Aerith seemed to crumple a little on the inside. The fall of Radiant Garden had possibly hit her the hardest. She'd once confessed to being able to feel all the deaths that had come of that. Leon did not envy that ability.

Zack put an arm around Aerith, as if noticing her discomfort. Leon noticed how she folded into him just a little. So the two of them were… _something_. Good on them.

Leon looked at Quistis as he continued. "I think I'm going to go and try to help them."

"Man," Zack said. "Wish I could go too, but I've really gotta find Angeal and then probably Genesis as well."

Leon nodded. "I understand."

"What about me?" Yuffie asked.

"Right," Aerith said. She looked down at Yuffie. "Yuffie, I need you to stay here and help me with the Heartless in Traverse Town. If Leon goes away, who's going to be doing his job."

Yuffie frowned.

"I mean, Ima gonna be here, too," Cid began.

Aerith glared and Cid spluttered, stopping in his tracks.

"Though," he continued, coughing now. "I mean, I hardly got anythin' that'll help again' the Heartless, tha's been Leon's job. We'll all hafta work together teh pull the weight…"

"If it's too much of a problem," Rinoa began. "We wouldn't want…"

Aerith put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head rapidly. Then she gestured to Yuffie with a tilt of her head. A look of understanding crossed Rinoa's face.

"Right," she said, then she quieted.

Yuffie didn't look convinced.

"Everyone's leaving," she whined.

"Hey," Zack argued. "I'll come back."

"So will I," Leon added.

"Your place is here, with me," Aerith said. "At least for now."

Yuffie crossed her arms over her chest.

"I miss home," she said.

"Don't we all," Aerith mused.

Leon got the feeling that he would have a lot of explaining to do to Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell. There were some things that they would just need to understand about him. He still didn't really want to be doing this, but somewhere in the last conversation, he'd signed himself up for the job—which wasn't what he'd intended to do. Regardless, he was a man of his word.

He stood up.

"We should leave soon," he said. "We don't know how much time we have."

"Sleep?" Cid suggested.

"Time," Leon said, heading to the other room to pack a small bag. He threw a change of clothes and then went to the kitchen to pack some non-perishables. He grabbed a pouch of munny from the safe.

"Well, if nothing else," Cid said, taking a last look at him. "Tell me what star shard travel is like." He clapped him on the back and Leon rolled his eyes.

"Be careful," Aerith said, running up to him and giving him a hug. "You're a good person, you know that?"

He didn't respond.

"Bye Squall," Yuffie grumbled. He went over and gave her a hug too. She didn't look too thrilled about it, but he had the feeling she'd be grateful for it later.

He looked at the other three. Zell had the star shard out and had an arm linked around Quistis'. Quistis had her other hand on Rinoa's shoulder. Rinoa held out a hand for Leon to take. He noticed then that she had a dog in the other hand. Where had the dog even come from?

Deciding he'd ask about it later, he grabbed Rinoa's hand and was whisked away.


	16. Tea Won't Keep

**Author's Note: **This is more or less the final chapter in this 'sequence' that I like to call, 'everyone's lives beginning'. Basically. I dunno, my relationship with timing in this fic is special. Anywho, review responses on the blog, per usual :) Enjoy!

* * *

Nibelhiem: Cloud, Age 14

_Meet me at the water tower when you get off work. –Cloud_

_xx_

That's all he'd said in the note he'd left. He knew she'd find it. He was afraid to say it to her in person in front of just anybody. He wanted to tell her privately. And he couldn't just go up to her and ask to speak with her privately. People would talk. And she'd know something was up then. He needed the time to compose himself.

He'd already told his boss—he'd quit his job, even. He'd turned in his gun for the last time. He had a sword now. Not the best of swords, but a sword nonetheless. It would do the job until he had the munny for a better one. He would avoid all the bigger monsters in the meantime. He just needed to get out, and go adventuring. And get away from the town that didn't know what to do with him.

Aside from his boss, the only other person who knew that he was planning to leave at the moment was his mother. He'd been afraid to tell her, too, but he couldn't just leave without saying anything, especially since he was making it a point to tell Tifa. His mother had understood his reasoning, he needed to get out and see the world. She hadn't even tried to stop him.

He would go and give her one last goodbye, of course. He owed her that. Besides, his bag was at the house. He didn't see the point of lugging it to the water tower when he knew he would still have to say goodbye to his mother one last time after he'd told Tifa he was leaving. It was circular logic, sure, but Cloud felt that his mother should be the last person to see him before he left.

He wasn't sure why he had to tell Tifa. He didn't technically have to tell anyone, but since he did want a home to come back to, he figured it the best thing to do. His boss said he'd give him the position back if he ever wanted it. His mother told him to be careful and maybe even have a little fun. He wasn't sure what Tifa had to say yet. That's why he was waiting for her here on the water tower.

"Hey Cloud," she said, walking up. "What's up?" She took one look at him and sighed. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

Cloud looked up at her, shocked. "How did you guess?"

She walked over and sat down next to him. "I saw you get the sword last week. I knew that was really the only thing keeping you back. I can put two and two together."

"Oh, right."

They were silent for a few minutes.

"Do you have to leave?" Tifa asked.

"Yes."

"Okay."

Silence.

"What about your job?"

"Quit. Boss said he'd hold a position for me though. Told him I probably wouldn't need it. But I thanked him all the same."

"Ah. Well, that's good."

More silence.

"Did you tell your mom?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Yet more silence.

"Are you going with anyone?"

"No."

Pause.

"Right."

Silence.

"Why not?"

"Because I need to go adventuring on my own."

"You said a long time ago that you wanted to find an adventuring buddy."

"I changed my mind."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Tifa," Cloud said, breaking the silence for the first time. "I just, I have to go. I don't fit in here. Sure, your dad may let us hang out occasionally, but he still looks at me like I'm still responsible for you getting hurt years ago, and I can't handle it anymore. I know it shouldn't matter, but it does. And while everyone seems to have gotten over the fact that you're mom's dead, no one can get over the fact that my dad is. Because, apparently, being a single mom is not okay, and that's bull crap. I just need to be away from it all."

"Cloud, you running away isn't going to solve the fact that your mother is a single parent," Tifa said quietly.

"Yeah, but it'll at least get me out of the way so it's not obvious."

"Cloud! Don't think like that!" Tifa sounded appalled, but Cloud didn't care.

"I need to do this."

He expected her to argue, but instead she said:

"I know."

Cloud nodded. "Good."

"Let me come with you!" she said.

Cloud looked at her, blinking. A small part of him suspected that Tifa might want to go along. That was the same part of him that wanted her to come along with him. But, the rest of him knew he had to do this alone. He couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt, not for the sake of his own stupid exploits. But how was he supposed to tell her that?

"Tifa," he began. "I—" All words caught in his throat. "You can't. Your dad would never forgive me if something happened to you. And I'm trying to keep a home to come back to open. If I anger your dad… I'll never be allowed back in Nibelheim."

"Cloud!" Tifa protested. "That's not true! You know it."

It was the lamest of all lamest excuses, but he was going to stick with it.

"Your dad doesn't like me, that's no secret."

"He's gotten better!"

"But he still doesn't like me."

"I wish he would!"

"So do I."

"Ugh!"

Silence. More tense this time.

"Cloud, what's bothering you?"

He wasn't sure how to answer.

"Is it really that you just don't feel like you belong here?"

He nodded.

She sighed.

"I wish I could change that."

"By going off and having an adventure, I hope to change it myself."

Tifa pursed her lips.

"What if you don't come home?" she asked

"I'll come home," Cloud said, forcing a smile.

Tifa looked down at her shoes.

"Do you think you'll make the papers if you do well?"

"I can hope," Cloud said, with a shrug. He wasn't sure what 'doing well' entailed. He just wanted an adventure, he wasn't off to go do something specific. There was still a small part of him that wanted to go into SOLDIER; he wanted to become one of the famous SOLDIERs. But what if Tifa was right and all SOLDIER did was strip a person of their dreams? Cloud wanted no part of that. Besides, there was hardly any chance that SOLDIER would even take him. Cloud was scrawny and didn't have very many fighting skills outside of the average monster. SOLDIER took people young and trained them from there. Cloud was a teenager.

As if Tifa had sensed him thinking about it, she said, "You're not going to lose sight of your dreams, are you? You're going to chase your dreams and only your dreams."

"Yes."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Silence.

"Cloud, if something ever happens to me… If I'm ever in a bind… would you promise to come rescue me?"

"That's a lot of promises."

"Oh just promise."

He sighed. "Oh all right, I promise."

She smiled. "And if something ever happens to you, I will come help. Promise."

"Okay."

More silence, just less tense.

"Look after my mom, okay?" Cloud said.

"I will."

"Promise?"

Tifa laughed. "Promise."

"You should chase your dreams, too," Cloud said after a moment. "You're over here telling me to chase my dreams and be true to myself; well, you should do that too. Chase your dreams, Tifa. And always be you."

Tifa smiled. "Promise."

Cloud nodded and looked off into the distance.

"When are you leaving?" Tifa asked.

"Tomorrow morning."

"Do you think I could come over for breakfast tomorrow before you leave?" Tifa asked. "I know it's rude to invite myself over to your place, but…"

"Sure," Cloud interrupted. "You can come."

Tifa didn't quite process Cloud's offer for a second.

But when she did, she grinned bigger than she had the whole conversation.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem."

xx

Cloud's mother made a very large breakfast the next morning for Cloud to eat.

"If you eat a lot now, you won't have to eat for a while later, and food's expensive!"

Cloud knew this to be true. He couldn't afford to be spending all his munny on food when he wanted to get a new sword. However, part of his adventure was learning how to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining. He would be making his living off of his adventuring.

Tifa brought him some jerky for the trip, which he put in his bag happily.

"I'd give you tea," Tifa said. "But it won't keep well on the road."

Cloud's mother laughed at that, but Cloud didn't find it very amusing.

As soon as Cloud had eaten his fill, he took what food would keep for a day or two and stored it in his pack. Then he hefted his pack and his sword and headed out. His mother kissed him on the forehead and he let her. Tifa gave him a hug and he hugged back. Then he left. It was time for his adventure.

He wasn't going to regret any of this. This adventure was going to make his life better. He knew that for certain.

The hardest part about it was leaving his mom and his only good friend, Tifa. However, his mom wasn't the adventuring type. She was perfectly content to work at her soup kitchen and help Nibelheim be a better place. She was happy for her son with whatever he had to do. If he was happy, she would be happy for him. Tifa, on the other hand, was the person that Cloud was only now realizing was actually some sort of friend. And he was leaving her behind. But there was no way around it. Cloud had seen her get hurt and he wouldn't watch it again.

Perhaps, perhaps if things went well, Cloud could return to Nibelheim in a year or so and go out on another adventure, this time _with _Tifa. And maybe anyone else he actually found while on the road. Cloud did hope he could find someone who would understand him and who didn't know his entire life's story so they couldn't judge him based on anything except who he was at that moment. Maybe he'd meet that sort of person. Maybe they'd get along with Tifa, too. Maybe they'd all get along just fine.

But that was a lot of wishful thinking for someone who was hardly on an adventure.

Cloud turned around once he was outside of Nibelheim and took one last look at the city. The most prominent thing was Mt. Nibel of course. He gave it one last look and then turned away for the last time. He hiked up his pack farther on his back and quickened his pace to a brisk but steady one.

Maybe he would go off-world. There were plenty of other Worlds out there. Worlds that didn't know him and couldn't judge him. Worlds where he may fit in better.

He heard that Midgar made motorcycles that would go off-world. Maybe he'd head to Midgar and try to buy one of those. Or at least get a price so he knew how much adventuring and work he'd have to do to save up for that. Motorcycles probably weren't cheap.

But at least he had a plan. For starters, he was going to Midgar.

Just then, a few monsters showed up. They were flying monsters of a greenish-brown color. Their most distinguishing features were their bright yellow eyes and weird black-and-red markings on their chest.

Cloud drew his sword and adjusted his current plans. For starters, he was going to kill these monsters.


	17. Experience with Sorceresses

**Author's Note: **So, I was going to post yesterday, but that didn't happen. But I'm posting now. Heh. Enjoy!

* * *

_Balamb: Quistis, Age 18_

"We will stay at the Garden while we make plans to go after Edea," Quistis said, walking through the halls of Balamb Garden and figuring the other three were behind her. Granted, Zell could disappear for all she really cared, he'd end up finding her in the end. It was mostly Rinoa and… Leon, was it?... that she was most concerned about.

"Do we need to go speak with the headmaster?" Zell asked.

"Naturally," Quistis replied. "The four of us will go, introduce him to Leon, and make up a plan."

"Seems legit," Zell said. "But I'd much rather be out fighting right now."

"Wouldn't we all?" Rinoa mused.

Leon didn't say anything.

Quistis wasn't sure what to think of him just yet. He was certainly good with getting rid of Heartless. Those ones back in the little town seemed to stand no match for his blade. He also seemed like he knew what he was talking about when it came to darkness, and possibly Sorceresses, Quistis wasn't entirely positive how much he knew about them. Rinoa sure seemed to think he was the person for the job though.

They got to the Headmaster's office, but Cid wasn't there. Quistis sighed.

"Right, well, we'll just have to wait here for him," she said, tapping her foot absentmindedly.

Rinoa went and leaned against the opposite wall and scratched her dog's ears. Zell sat down on the floor and fiddled with his gloves. Leon leaned against a nearby pole and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Leon," Quistis said tentatively. "You appear to have joined us on this mission with little information and even less warning. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Leon nodded.

"Yuffie made Squall out to be a great Heartless killer," Rinoa said.

If Leon seemed to mind Rinoa's use of his other name, he made no outward sign. Quistis wasn't sure why Rinoa chose to use that name for him as opposed to the one everyone else, save for the small girl, Yuffie, used. Regardless, Quistis wasn't going to bring it up. She didn't know Rinoa that well. She did find it odd that Rinoa chose to use what was probably an older name for him when she herself had gone through a name change a couple years ago.

"It's my job in Traverse Town," Leon said, his voice quietly. "I kill Heartless, we get to stay in the hotel. Any extra munny I pick up goes toward groceries and stuff. The four of us look out for each other."

"I saw that," Quistis said, her own voice of a quiet tone. Upon further thought, she distinctly remembered five people in the hotel. She wondered who Leon had left out.

He didn't say anything more. Rinoa looked at him but he didn't move.

"You seemed to understand a bit what I was saying when I mentioned Sorceresses," Quistis said. "What is your experience…?"

He started answering before she fully articulated her question.

"A woman, we called her a witch, but she just as easily could have been a Sorceress as you call them, for all I know… this woman destroyed my home. She plunged the entire thing into darkness. Out of the five people you saw there, four of them came from that home—which is now long gone. Yuffie and Aerith both lost their families. Cid and I were lucky, we were each other's family. I lost my parents practically when I was born, and I don't know about Cid.

"Regardless, he and I were lucky, not having much to lose when Radiant Garden fell. Aerith lost her mom. Yuffie lost both parents. They don't show it, but I know it hurts them. Cid and I adopted them into our family. The other person you met was Zack. He'd been staying with us for a bit, but as you heard, he has his own stuff to deal with.

"Losing my home like that, though, I'm just as affected as Aerith and Yuffie. I am only lucky in the fact that I had no family there. I still lost the home where I grew up, most of my little belongings I had, I lost any sense of stability that World provided me, everything.

"So, my experience with darkness and black magic and all that stuff, I'd say it's pretty extensive. The reason why I agreed to come is because I'm trying to help you guys prevent what happened to my World from happening to yours."

He fell silent again.

Rinoa was the first to speak.

"Thank you," she said. "For helping us."

"Yes," Quistis added. "Thank you."

Zell gave him the SeeD salute, though Leon probably had no clue of its significance. He seemed to gather that it was a sign of admiration and nodded in response.

They heard footsteps coming down the hall. Quistis turned to see Headmaster Cid coming their way.

"Why hello," he said, looking at the four of them. His eyes fell on Leon. "Quistis, may I speak with you alone for a second? I need your professional opinion for something. Then the rest of us will discuss other matters."

"Of course, sir," Quistis said, following him into his office.

"Is he it?" the headmaster asked quietly as soon as the door was closed behind them.

"What do you mean?"

"You left to get us a person who would be capable of handling Edea. This boy, this single boy, is what you come back with? Quistis, I thought you…"

"I will admit," Quistis said, interrupting him. "I was apprehensive of him myself at first. However, Rinoa seems pretty convinced that he's the one."

"You'll go off the assumptions of a teenage girl?"

"May I remind you, sir, that I am hardly older than Rinoa," Quistis said sternly. "In addition to Rinoa's insistence, I have spoken with him and I feel he is perfectly qualified. He's particularly willing to help us, even after we explained the entire situation."

"You explained the whole situation?" Headmaster Cid asked, raising an eyebrow.

"More or less," Quistis answered. "He says he's dealt with a Sorceress on another World—his home world—she seems to have done exactly what is happening here."

"Sorceresses on other Worlds?" Cid asked with a shudder. "They have my condolences."

Quistis bowed her head in respect, knowing the full story of what happened with Leon where Headmaster Cid did not. She continued, "Leon is here to help prevent the eventual outcome of what happened to his World."

"Which would be?" Cid asked, his eyes wide behind his glasses.

"His home was plunged into darkness."

Cid slumped down to his seat. He massaged his forehead and groaned.

"What happened to the Sorceress?" he asked.

"He didn't say," Quistis said.

"Well, I'm sure he dealt with her appropriately," Cid said, wringing his hands. "Else he would not have agreed to help."

"Very likely, sir," Quistis replied.

"Well, no sense telling just you the plan when everyone else needs to hear it, too," Cid said. "Now that I have your opinion on the boy, let's bring them all in and we'll discuss tactics."

"Very well," Quistis said, turning to the door.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Cid said, his tone of voice taking on an even more serious tone.

"Yes?" Quistis said, trying to keep the apprehension from her tone.

"There is something about Edea that someone else needs to know aside from me."

If at all possible, the Headmaster looked more nervous than he ever had before. Quistis bit her lip.

"I would like to look into ways to not only contain Edea, but possibly rescue her."

"What do you mean?" Quistis asked.

"Edea is my wife."

Quistis stared at Headmaster Cid, shocked. Not that it was any of her business, but she had not even known the Headmaster was married. On top of that, however, he wasn't just married, he was married to a darkness-surrounded Sorceress who seemed intent on destroying the whole world.

"I had to tell someone," the Headmaster said. "And you must believe me when I tell you she was not always like this. Edea used to be a quiet woman, she kept to herself. She even had safeguards and guards set in place so that something like this _wouldn't _happen. It's not even like she's not always like this, it's that she's _never _like this. Something is _wrong_. I need the four of you to get to the bottom of it."

Quistis couldn't even bring herself to nod. She was still too shocked.

"One of you has to know," Cid said. "You already know not to kill her, for that won't help any of us in the long run, for she will just transfer her Sorceress powers to someone else. But I'd like to get to the bottom of what happened to my wife."

Quistis finally managed enough composure to nod.

"Shall I let the others in?" she asked, her voice strained.

"Yes. Perhaps that will be best."

Quistis forced herself to go over and open the door.

"…why did Yuffie keep calling you Squall?" Rinoa was asking.

"Because that's actually my name," Leon replied gruffly.

"Why go by something else, then?" Rinoa asked. "I like the name Squall…"

Quistis cleared her throat, not wanting to interrupt, but still wanting to get this stage of planning out of the way. The faster they did that, the faster she could sit down and process everything that Headmaster Cid had just said about Sorceress Edea.

"Goodness, what took so long?" Zell asked.

Quistis gave him a stern look and he rolled his eyes. He didn't actually care why it took so long. Typical.

"We're going to discuss possible tactics for dealing with…" Quistis paused and cleared her throat. "The Sorceress," she finished. There, best to just keep herself very removed from the situation. The less personal attachment, the better. Quistis didn't even know this woman, but she felt oddly attached now that Headmaster Cid had mentioned who she _really _was. Attachment did not do a SeeD well.

xx

They didn't get very much of a plan down. Leon was very helpful with different containment ideas, but they couldn't seem to come up with an idea that worked for everybody. Every Sorceress was different and required different containment. The other Sorceress on this world, Adel, was in a containment cell above Esthar.

Headmaster Cid was appropriately nervous regarding how they dealt with Edea, but at one point Quistis looked at him and told him that it ultimately came down to what was best for the World, and he stopped being over-protective. She rolled her eyes internally for that one. If anyone else caught the terseness in their exchange, they did not bring it up.

It soon became apparent that their biggest problem wasn't even that Edea was a Sorceress, but that she was surrounded with so much darkness. She was manipulating those around her to the point that they didn't see it. Galbadia was in for a lot more trouble if the darkness started latching onto other people.

If Leon's suggestions for containment were good, his suggestions for dealing with darkness were better. Of course, most of his suggestions involved straight up light magic, something none of the rest of them could use. Quistis informed him that she was working her way to become a Blue Mage, but she had no grasp on light magic.

Leon said something about wishing that Aerith had come along, too.

"Can you draw such magic?" Rinoa asked.

"What do you know of Draw Points?" Quistis asked.

"I've done some reading," Rinoa said, shrugging it off.

Quistis would have to ask about it later.

"Yes, but would it be effective?" she asked.

"Better than nothing," Leon said.

"We will have to get you a Guardian Force," Cid said, looking at Leon. "It will help you use magic more effectively on this world."

"All right."

"I believe Rinoa will need one, too," Quistis said, looking between Rinoa and the Headmaster.

"Oh! Yes please!" Rinoa said.

Cid nodded. "Right. Quistis, I'll leave that to you."

_Of course_, Quistis thought to herself.

xx

Leon got a Guardian Force named Shiva. Rinoa was given one named Eden. They were given the proper tutorials on Guardian Force use. Quistis kept meaning to ask Rinoa about whether or not she'd had a Guardian Force before, but the right time never quite arose. Perhaps Quistis had been imagining it the whole time and Rinoa could not, in fact, use magic. She certainly knew a lot about Guardian Forces before, though it seemed clear enough that she had never used one before. Only Quistis was the one pondering this mystery, however. Zell appeared to have completely forgotten and Headmaster Cid had too much else on his plate.

Quistis was also in charge of showing Leon and Rinoa where they'd be sleeping during their stay at the Garden. Thankfully, Headmaster Cid took care of explaining to the rest of the Garden why two non-SeeD members were allowed to stay there and have Guardian Forces—if he told them about the last part, Quistis wasn't sure. She didn't actually attend that. She was busy forcing Rinoa and Leon through rounds of training. Both were relatively skilled fighters already, which was good. Leon's specialty certainly seemed to be Heartless, however, considering he had to work a little bit harder at other types of monsters. Regardless, it was comforting having the two of them around. For whatever reason, Quistis had grown to trust them.


	18. A Fight for a Life

**Author's Note: **And the posting continues! (Despite me being in classes!) Woo! I basically have nothing really to say here (aside from me wishing that you enjoy this chapter) mostly because I'm in favor of in-depth blog posts as opposed to long-butt author's notes. Check out the blog for exciting things and review responses!

* * *

_Outside Beast's Castle: Zack, Age 16_

"Now _that's _a castle," Zack said, munching on a sandwich.

He and Angeal were sitting on a hill. Off in the distance sat a very grand castle, gleaming marble and statues of angels… everything. Zack had seen a few castles (or castle-like substances) throughout his travels. He found them incredibly interesting considering there were no castles anywhere on his home World.

"That it is," Angeal agreed, munching on an apple.

"Why do you suppose we don't have castles back at home?" Zack wondered.

"Too technologically advanced," Angeal replied. "We've outgrown the need for castles."

"You mean Shinra says we've outgrown the need for castles."

"Shinra hasn't taken over the whole World," Angeal said, a small glint in his eyes.

"Yet," Zack said, laughing.

The faint sound of flapping wings—or flapping wing—caught the two men's attention. Angeal turned around with his sword drawn in seconds, Zack followed suit shortly after.

The man Zack knew to be Genesis walked towards the pair. Zack had never seen Genesis before, but he could figure that the man in front of him was the one and only. He wore elaborate red clothing and carried a sword with a blade of a similar color. His brown hair hung into his face wildly. His most distinguishing feature was the single black wing on his left side. Zack recognized the very feathers. Genesis had been responsible for Zack leaving his home World and had taken Zack from World to World in order to trap him and use Zack's "perfect" DNA to fix his own mangled and degrading DNA.

Zack only knew this because Angeal told him, but he had no reason to distrust Angeal. Angeal had even gone off on his own twice to fight Genesis in an effort to protect Zack. Zack knew that Angeal was a little bit protective of him, though Zack felt he was getting to an age where he could protect himself.

"Friend," Genesis said, looking at Angeal. "Why do you keep this boy around like a pet, like a puppy?" He gestured lazily to Zack.

"Genesis…" Angeal warned.

Genesis continued as if he had not heard. "This boy's DNA has the ability to reverse our degradation. Why do you insist on becoming attached to him? It will only cause you pain later."

"I have no interest in dying," Zack growled.

Still, it would seem that Genesis did not hear. "'The mysterious abyss tis the Gift of the Goddess," he said. "In pursuit of this gift we take flight. Within the heart's water surface a hopeless wander will flow. Like ripples to waves come forth the dreams below.' You're quite the noisy one, Zack the Puppy."

"Why am I a puppy?" Zack asked.

He got no answer.

"LOVELESS, Act 1," Angeal mused.

"Painful, isn't it?" Genesis asked, cocking his head to one side.

"Genesis," Angeal said, his voice low. "I'm warning you. Leave this boy alone. You are not the one to choose whether he lives or he dies."

"Perhaps you will feel differently when your DNA is as unstable as mine," Genesis replied. His voice was still even, which was very unnerving to Zack. Usually, people started shouting by now in such intense discussions—but both Angeal and Genesis kept a very calm tone.

Genesis threw Fira at Angeal. Angeal ducked and rolled out of the way. Zack hesitantly took a step away from Genesis.

"I will have to show you that this boy is the key," Genesis said, sending two more bursts of Fira in Angeal's direction. Angeal dodged the first, but the second got him. Not letting that deter him, he ran at Genesis, sword bared. Zack wanted to help, but had no idea how to do so without being more harm to Angeal than help. The two of them clashed swords again and again. Zack, unable to stay idle for longer, saw an opening and took it.

Genesis managed to block both Zack's sword and Angeal's sword with his single blade. Zack and Angeal jumped back, waiting for the chance to strike again. Genesis sent off another burst of Firas. Rather than dodge them, Angeal and Zack reflected them back. Unfortunately, Genesis avoided all of them.

Genesis stepped back and began summoning a spell. Zack watched him, waiting to see where he was going to throw it.

Naturally, Genesis threw it straight at him, but Angeal leapt in front and took the entire spell to spare Zack. Zack gathered the spell was something dark magic, probably Gravity. Angeal looked visibly weaker and more tired.

With a yell of rage, Zack charged at Genesis.

"Do not hurt my friends!" he shouted.

Genesis merely smiled and held up his arm. A glowing red ball of light appeared and Zack back-pedaled.

"It's a summon," Angeal coughed. "Run!"

Zack ran.

"You will take flight? Even if the world hates us so?"

_Oh just shut up! _Zack thought.

"A painful tomorrow is all that waits for you," Genesis continued. "Even twirling winds will not stop their flow."

The summon appeared. It was a dragon, dark and angry. Genesis pointed and the dragon aimed for Zack. Zack hefted his sword and aimed for an attack. Unfortunately, the dragon seemed pretty keen on staying out of Zack's range. So he started shooting magic at it. Firas and Blizzaras and even a few Thundaras. It hardly seemed to be making a dent. It didn't help that the dragon kept shooting its own Flares at Zack. Meanwhile, Genesis just stood by and watched.

_I have to survive this, _Zack thought. _But how can I defeat this summon? _

Suddenly, Angeal was by Zack's side.

"You're okay!" Zack exclaimed.

"Nothing a Cure wouldn't handle," Angeal replied with a smirk. He turned to Genesis. "How could you use a summon creature like that?" he asked. "Where is your pride as SOLDIER?"

"I no longer have pride," Genesis replied. "I am a monster. _We _are monsters." Genesis looked at Angeal.

"You are not a monster because your DNA would say so," Angeal argued. "You are a monster only if you seek destruction or revenge."

The dragon aimed a Flare at Angeal and Zack and the conversation was cut short. The two ducked out of the way, thankfully avoiding any negative status affects.

"We need to get to his head," Angeal said. "Attacking his head will bring him down."

"But how do we get up there?" Zack asked.

Angeal raised an eyebrow and stretched out his wing.

"So," Zack began. "I stay down here and distract it and you fly up there and attack it?"

"Genesis is expecting that. I'll throw you."

"What?" Zack began.

He didn't have time to argue, Angeal had already grabbed onto Zack's arm and threw him upwards. Without time to think, Zack bared his blade as he landed on the dragon's nose. Continuing to not think about it, he dragged his sword along the dragon's head. The shriek of pain was nearly deafening, but Zack continued what he was doing, hoping everything worked. He continued to slash at the dragon's head.

The dragon started crashing down and Genesis swore, the first angry outburst Zack had heard so far. Genesis called the summon back to him.

Zack began to fall.

_Which is worse? _he thought. _Dying by dragon, or by a several-hundred-foot fall?_

He needn't have worried. Angeal flew up and caught him.

"Thanks," Zack muttered.

"You owe me," Angeal replied.

"What else is new?"

The two landed and turned to look at Genesis.

"It would seem you fight strongest as a pair," he mused. "I will have to separate you to get what I want."

"What you want is something you cannot have," Angeal replied, his voice warning.

"I refuse to continue living as a monster," Genesis said. "The boy you travel with—if used as a vessel—could solve our problems!"

"You're crazy!" Zack shouted.

"You can stop living as a monster any time you want," Angeal repeated. "You need not seek world conquest or revenge…"

"All I seek is the 'Gift of the Goddess'," Genesis lamented.

_He's crazy! _Zack thought. _Absolutely bonkers!_

Angeal leapt forward for another attack. Genesis moved him out of the way easily. Angeal came crashing down to the ground, his sword flying the complete opposite direction. He rolled over onto his front and picked himself up to his hands and knees. Zack could see that he was panting.

_How is Genesis so strong? Or is Angeal going easy on him? If that's the case, Angeal needs to stop…_

But perhaps the degradation made Genesis stronger. Or Angeal could just be not as strong as his old friend. Whatever the case was, Zack was tired of Genesis pushing Angeal around.

He stared at Genesis and brought his sword up.

"Cur—" he started to say, trying to give Angeal a little more of a boost, but Genesis slashed at him before he could finish the spell.

Zack leapt at Genesis and was swept away as well. The full force of the fuller of Genesis' sword hit him in the chest and he was knocked backwards.

"That's gonna bruise," he muttered.

_Good thing it wasn't the edge of his sword…_

"Cure," he coughed and the pain lessened.

A shadow hovered over him and he saw Genesis standing above him, ready to strike. Zack tried to get to his feet, but he couldn't seem to move fast enough.

"Not good…" he stammered.

Genesis brought his blade down.

Angeal's sword stopped Genesis' blade. However, it wasn't the sword that Angeal generally used—the smaller one, much like Zack's. No, it was the bigger sword—The Buster Sword—that stayed on Angeal's back. It was a family heirloom, supposedly. Family pride, or something.

"Leave!" Angeal commanded.

Genesis tried to force his blade through Angeal's to get to Zack. The idea of that seemed pointless, however, given the sheer breadth of Angeal's prized sword. Zack leapt to his feet and added his strength to Angeal's, forcing Genesis to back down. Genesis stepped back and for a second, Angeal and Zack thought he might be done.

He wasn't, however. He took advantage of Zack and Angeal's momentary hesitation and sliced at Angeal's back. Angeal fell to the ground.

Zack wasn't even aware of what he was doing. He launched himself at Genesis, sword bared. He drove the sword through Genesis' shoulder and then pulled it back out. Genesis clutched his shoulder for a moment and then pulled his hand away. He seemed surprised to see dark blood rushing out.

"I will leave you for now," he said, his voice still calm. "'Nothing shall fortell my return. Even if the morrow is barren of promises.'"

Zack couldn't be sure if Genesis was actually speaking his own words, or quoting again. Nevertheless, Genesis took flight and left.

Without wasting time, Zack turned to look at Angeal. Angeal looked to be in pretty bad shape. Genesis had got him good.

"Cure!" Zack said.

The bleeding stopped. Angeal coughed. "I might need a bit more than that," he said.

Zack's mind frantically thought of who might be better at healing. His mind instantly went to Aerith. He wasn't even sure why. But, if nothing else, Aerith would know what to do, right?

"I know the place," Zack said, digging in his pocket for the star shard. "Where's your sword?"

Angeal grabbed the Buster Sword.

"No, not your good sword, your other sword."

"Broken," Angeal coughed.

"So that's why you used that one? I know it's important to you not to use it…" Zack said.

Angeal smiled. "Your life is more important than the sword. Well, just a little."

"Gee, thanks," Zack said. He gripped on to the star shard tight. "To Aerith's house!"

The star shard gripped them both and they were wrenched away from one World to head to the next. Zack's mind, used to star shard travel by now, reeled from the events of the past hour. He hoped Aerith could do something about Angeal. Surely she could, couldn't she?

They arrived just outside the hotel. Unfortunately, Aerith's room was on the second floor and there was no way Zack was going to be dragging Angeal up a flight of stairs.

"Wait right here," he said. "Lemme go get Aerith."

"I don't think I'll be going anywhere," Angeal said, dry humor evident in his voice.

"Right, hopefully no Heartless'll show up."

"I'll fend them off," Angeal said. "Just go."

Zack took off running.


	19. Transfer of Powers

**Author's Note:** Woo, more battles!

* * *

_Deling City: Leon, Age 18_

Leon sat on an archway with Rinoa and Quistis. Zell was on the streets, scouting. Not that there was much to be scouted. There was no question as to where the Sorceress would be. As newly announced ambassador of Galbadia, there was a huge celebration in her honor. She was going to be on one of the floats in the parade that travelled through the entire city. The plan was to trap her underneath the archway that Leon was currently sitting on and deal with her where she had less means of escape (teleportation would be her only option). And she wouldn't be able to have much outside help, either.

"What I don't get," Rinoa mused. "Is why Galbadia Garden hasn't done anything about her! Surely they're just as against Sorceresses as Balamb!"

"Perhaps they don't know she's a Sorceress," Quistis said.

"How?" Rinoa asked.

Leon had to agree with Rinoa. From everything he'd heard about her, it seemed pretty obvious. However, he had less knowledge of this World and couldn't say for sure.

"Brainwashing," he mused. "She might have brainwashed them all."

Neither Quistis nor Rinoa had a response to that.

Just then, her float came into view. Leon squinted his eyes.

"_That _is your Sorceress?" he asked.

"Well, sure," Rinoa said.

"Huh, I expected someone different."

"What do you mean, you expected someone different?" Quistis asked, shocked.

"It was probably a silly thought, but I figured that we were dealing with the same person who ruined my home World," Leon said, shrugging.

"But I thought you took care of a Sorceress before…" Quistis said, her voice strained.

Leon licked his lips. Apparently, he'd been misleading when telling his stories. That was unintentional, he just hadn't wanted to get into all the gory details.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "What matters now is that we have a plan to contain _this _Sorceress. It doesn't change anything about right now."

"It certainly does!" Quistis argued. "What's changed is that you're not as knowledgeable as we originally thought! Our plan is designed based on your expertise, which you apparently lack!"

"Everything we've decided to do in this plan is something that I can do," Leon replied.

"Guys!" Rinoa said. "Hush! We don't have much time."

Sure enough, the float was getting closer and closer.

"Man the gate levers," Leon said. Rinoa and Quistis took on the two levers.

"You gonna be able to make the jump in time?" Rinoa asked.

Leon looked at the float the Sorceress was on, sizing it up.

"Yeah, no problem," he said. "I've made more interesting jumps. Take cover."

The three of them did as best as they could. Leon had to peer out over the edge so he could ensure the float was in the right placement. The float rattled under the archway.

"Steady," Leon said. They couldn't afford to be premature. They couldn't afford to be late though, either. When he was certain that the float was positioned exactly under the archway, he cried out: "Now!"

Rinoa and Quistis pulled the levers and the gates that blocked off the archway started coming down. Leon propelled himself off the edge and turned mid-air so he could land under the archway on the float. It wasn't a very hard jump, though it was one of the most crucial moments. Rinoa and Quistis would have to take the stairs down from the top of the archway and that would take much longer than simply jumping down. Leon needed that head start. If everything had gone according to plan, Zell should be with the float. Leon didn't see Zell, however, so he moved to continue the plan without him.

Leon got up to the float and saw the Sorceress standing on a pedestal. Someone had certainly been through here, however, for no one else on the float was conscious. The Sorceress looked furious.

"How dare you interrupt the Sorceress Edea," she spat from her perch.

"You're harming this World," Leon replied. "I'm only doing what needs to be done."

"Are you going to fight me?" she asked.

Leon tightened his grip on his gunblade. "So it would seem."

Rinoa and Quistis were suddenly behind him. They'd made it down the stairs.

"I could fight you from up here," Edea mused. "That would be easy. And perhaps fun."

Quistis' whip cracked.

"Or, perhaps I shall come down there and fight you in a fair fight."

"It won't be a fair fight," Quistis muttered. "She's a Sorceress. There's no way. Stick to the plan."

The plan being, fight Edea until she was weak in order to subdue her. Then, when she was unconscious, take her to the holding cell lined up for her outside of Balamb. Headmaster Cid was working on what they would do with her next.

Edea started climbing down from her pedestal. Her dress flowed around her. Her golden headdress with gauze flowing from it looked imposing. It almost looked like she had wings. It also couldn't have been that heavy, for otherwise she would have been imbalanced on the stairs.

"Keep your distance," Quistis hissed. "She likely won't let you get close."

Leon nodded.

The minute Edea was down level with the other three, she immediately cast Thundaga. The strike hit all three of them and Leon braced himself at the repercussions. Lightning and a metal sword. Not fun.

"Oh, you're going to play like that, huh?" Quistis muttered. She summoned her Guardian Force, Quetzalcoatl. Leon had been briefed that in a case like this, the best way to weaken the Sorceress would be to use the Guardian Forces. Leon wasn't too sure how he felt about that. It felt a lot like someone else was doing the work for him.

Unnerved by Quetzalcoatl's blow, Edea cast Blizzaga straight at Quistis in retaliation. Before Leon had a chance to do anything about it, Zell came out from the driver's seat of the float. He scrambled up and joined the others.

"Where were you two minutes ago?" Quistis asked.

"Sorry, working on it…" Zell muttered. He threw up a Cure for Quistis and she put shields on the four of them.

"That should help a little bit with the magic," she said.

Leon cast Blizzard. It didn't appear to be very effective, but he wasn't about to get very close with his gunblade right after Quistis had told him to keep his distance. Rinoa summoned her Guardian Force, Eden. It didn't appear very effective, either. Leon was amused that Rinoa was so quick to use a Guardian Force even though they'd both received them at the same time.

Edea recovered and removed the shield from over Leon. Quistis growled and put it back up. Edea swore. Rinoa took advantage of that and hit her with her blaster edge. Rinoa was lucky to have a weapon that wasn't designed for close range. The pinwheel came right back to her. Leon wondered if he'd get an opportunity to use his gunblade.

Zell summoned his Guardian Force, Ifrit. It seemed to do equal damage as the other Guardian Forces. Rinoa sent out her pinwheel again. Quistis summoned Quetzalcoatl. While Edea was taking the hit from that, she dispelled Quistis' shield.

"Are you going to put that back up?" Zell asked

"Waste of time," Quistis said, smacking Edea with her whip.

Leon was just itching to use his blade. But, like Zell, who fought with his fists, he was relegated to keeping his distance. Rinoa used her blaster edge. Quistis used her whip. Edea dispelled the shield over Rinoa. Leon cast Fire.

"Do something more effective!" Rinoa said.

Leon growled and summoned his Guardian Force, Shiva. He didn't want to, but simple magic didn't appear to be doing anything and the Guardian Forces seemed to be doing at least _something _more. The icy blast looked painful.

But Edea didn't even seem fazed. She cast Blizzaga and Rinoa and Quistis took the full brunt of that, their shields dispelled. Then, without really waiting, Edea cast Thundaga. Rinoa and Quistis again took all the damage.

Quistis put the shield back up. Rinoa threw up Cures for the two of them. Zell summoned Ifrit again and Leon added Shiva to the mix. Rinoa threw out her pinwheel.

Edea seemed to be radiating with power. She cast a giant spell that not only killed the spells, but also did a mix of Blizzard and Thunder damage to them all. Quistis swore, something that Leon found incredibly interesting. She always seemed so composed.

Before they had a chance to recover, Edea cast the spell again. Leon felt a surge of adrenaline rush through him and without even thinking about it, he rushed towards Edea, disregarding all advice to keep his distance. He slashed at her six times with his gunblade. He pulled back for just a moment, then slashed one last time upwards with his blade.

Edea staggered.

Rinoa cheered and sent her pinwheel again. It clipped Edea on the arm. Leon backed away before she could do any close counter-damage. Quistis and Zell each threw up two Curas a piece for the group.

Edea growled and cast Blizzaga again. Everyone felt the full force of that.

"Glad we threw those Curas," Zell mused.

Rinoa used her blaster edge. Quistis used her whip and Zell summoned Ifrit in quick succession. Edea fumbled with a Blizzaga, but it was weak.

"Quick!" Quistis said. "Just a little bit more!"

As she spoke, she summoned Quetzalcoatl. Rinoa summoned Eden.

Edea screamed in rage. She summoned an icicle to her and she threw it. Leon didn't even have time to process that it was coming right for him. The next thing he noticed was the searing pain in his left shoulder. He staggered backwards.

"No!" Rinoa screamed. "Squall!"

He blacked out.

xx

"…Cure!"

Someone pressed on his chest, as if trying to push the magic further in.

"Rinoa, it's no use! You don't have the magic for it!"

"Yes I do! Life!"

Leon took in a deep breath. The oxygen filled his lungs and his eyes flew open. He lurched into an upright position, trying to figure out what had just happened.

Rinoa threw her arms around him. He turned and noticed that she had white angel wings!  
"Whoa, where did those come from?" he asked.

"Rinoa's a Sorceress now."

Leon turned to the direction of the voice. He blinked when he saw Edea. At least, he assumed it was Edea. She certainly was wearing the same dress, though it was very tattered now. But the headdress was gone and her hair was down. She sat on the floor of the float not too far from Leon and Rinoa, looking rather plain. Her voice was different, too. It seemed to be less cruel. Leon did note that Edea's hands were tied.

He blinked. "Someone better start explaining."

"After Edea hit you with the icicle," Quistis began. "Rinoa got, ahem, incredibly angry."

"I'm not entirely sure what came over me," Rinoa said. "But I grabbed your gunblade and I just ran at Edea."

"She got me good," Edea said. "Not enough to bring about my death, but close enough for my Sorceress powers to be transferred to her."

"They both fainted," Zell said. "Quistis revived Rinoa first and then Rinoa started to try and heal you. That's when the wings appeared. "

"Wings are a trait of Sorceresses," Edea explained. "I hid mine with my headdress."

"I confess I panicked a little," Quistis said. "And I forced Rinoa to heal Edea to see if she had any answers."

"I explained to them exactly how Rinoa was a Sorceress," Edea said. "And she went right back to trying to revive you."

"How come it took so much longer to wake me if you were so near death?" Leon asked. "No offense."

Edea held up a hand, which looked difficult, given her hands were tied. "None taken. Considering the icicle blast I aimed at you was directed for your heart."

"How is it that we're talking about this so calmly?" Leon asked. "Two of us were almost murdered by each other." He looked at Rinoa. "Basically."

"I confess I wasn't myself," Edea said. "I was possessed by another Sorceress, Ultimecia. She is trying to take over the World from the future. She thought that if she could possess a Sorceress in the past, she could rise to power that way. She wanted to utilize my Sorceress powers to plunge the World into darkness and chaos."

"How was she planning to survive that?" Rinoa asked.

"Assuming she succeeded, she would be the ultimate Sorceress and would thus be able to thrive in such a world."

"So, does that mean Rinoa is now a target, considering you are no longer a viable vessel for possession?" Quistis asked.

Edea's face darkened.

"Yes, actually, I'm afraid. Ultimecia will be angry from this defeat. She will either go after Rinoa, or try to go after Adel—the other Sorceress still on the World at this time."

"We should do something about that," Leon said.

"Exactly what I was thinking," Edea said.

"How do we know you're not a threat?" Zell asked.

"I no longer have any magic," Edea answered. "I literally am no threat to you."

"We need to go speak to the Headmaster," Quistis said.


	20. If Someone is Hurt: Interrupt Me

**Author's Note: **So I went to con, and the internet was crappy (as in we weren't paying extra for hi-speed), and I couldn't brain enough to con AND homework AND everything else. Then I meant to post this yesterday, but I was playing catchup with just about everything (homework, writing, school stuff, friendships, unpacking, the works). But yeah! here's a chapter!

* * *

_Traverse Town: Aerith, Age 15_

Aerith sat at the table, multitasking quite well, if she said so herself. She was in the middle of both reading a chapter in a book about light magic she'd bought, as well as whittling a staff to use as a weapon.

She'd seen the book about light magic in the bookstore and decided she just had to have it. She'd been surprised to learn that the simple Cure spell had six different levels. Aerith wanted to master them all. She was currently in Chapter 4, the chapter that talked about spells dealing specifically with removing Poison. She really wanted to go to the chapter on Holy, but that wasn't until Chapter 29.

The book reminded her of her mother. Her mother had books like these. Though, they dealt specifically with making potions and stuff, not healing spells. But, Aerith felt like she was following in her mother's footsteps.

The staff, on the other hand, was going to have two purposes. The first was going to be channeling magic. Magic worked best when channeled through something. Sure, a person could be a conduit, but it was much easier for someone who was going to be casting magic regularly to have some sort of channeling device. When Aerith got the hang of it, she was going to show Yuffie how to use her boomerang as a conduit. Maybe Cid could make some sort of weapon to be a conduit as well. When Leon came back, he could use his gunblade.

The staff's second purpose was to plain and simple be a melee weapon. Aerith could bash the smaller Heartless on the head with it and it would probably be mildly effective. Everyone else had a weapon. She needed one, too. Especially because she'd taken up half of Leon's clear-up Heartless duties.

She hummed a tune to herself as she worked, alternating between whittling and reading.

Suddenly, someone was knocking at the door. Aerith frowned, who was knocking at this hour? It was… she looked at the clock… nearly midnight! Aerith had completely lost track of time. Regardless of that fact, she still needed to answer the door. Maybe the hotel manager had a Heartless problem or something…

Aerith was very surprised to see Zack standing at the door.

"Hi!" she said. She went to hug him but realized that she'd set down her staff to free up a hand and not the knife. She blushed and set it down on the windowsill instead.

"Uh, I need your help with something," Zack said.

That's when Aerith noticed that Zack was a tad battered.

"Oh, sure, come in, sit down…" she began.

"Not me," Zack said. "My friend. He's downstairs. I couldn't get him…"

"Oh well shoot," Aerith said, stepping outside. "You should have said something sooner."

"I would have interrupted…"

"No, seriously. If someone is hurt, just interrupt me."

"Okay."

Aerith and Zack made their way down the stairs. Aerith made an effort to be as quiet as possible, knowing how late it was. It didn't matter, however, Zack was making no effort to be quiet and she didn't really blame him.

Zack's friend could have easily been related to Zack, as far as build and color would suggest. He had similar blue eyes and dark hair. Zack could also easily become that muscled with age and work. Though Zack was still mostly a scrawny teenager.

The man however, had a large white wing on his right side. Aerith sincerely hoped there wasn't supposed to be a second one… At least he was conscious.

"Here," Zack said, pointing to a gash through the man's shirt. "And here…"

"Oh curses for the room being on the second floor," Aerith said. "It's a shame that all the long-term rooms are."

"What do you need?" Zack asked.

"My entire kit! Scissors, rags, potions…"

"Where is it?"

"Above the cabinet in the kitchen."

Zack ran off again.

"You'll have to forgive him," the man said. "He's impulsive, Zack."

Aerith nodded. "I know. He stayed here for a few days last month."

The man coughed. "I'm… Angeal."

"Aerith," Aerith replied. "Now hush. I'm going to heal you."

She located the worst of the gashes and put her hands over it. "Cura!" she said. It sort of worked. "That will be more effective when your shirt is off."

Angeal groaned.

"Don't complain! It makes healing easier."

Angeal grunted.

Zack came back with the kit. Aerith reached out and took it from his hands.

"Thank you," she said.

"Uh-huh."

Aerith pulled the scissors out of her kit and started cutting into the fabric of Angeal's shirt.

"You could have used my sword," Zack suggested.

Aerith raised an eyebrow at him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Genesis," Zack said. "We fought him. It was pretty bad."

"Obviously. Why did you need to fight him?"

"Uh… well…" Zack fumbled for an answer.

Angeal started laughing. Though it turned into a cough.

"I'm failing to see how any of this is funny," Aerith said sternly.

"You didn't tell her?" Angeal asked. "How nice of you."

Aerith glared at Zack.

"What? Okay, I didn't think you needed to… ugh!" Zack smacked his forehead. "Look, Genesis kinda wants me dead. So we were fighting mostly out of self-defense."

"I only sort of care that you were fighting someone," Aerith said. "I care less because it was self-defense. I _really _care, however, that this person wants you dead, Zack!"

Zack laughed nervously.

"Oi. Help me sit him up, I need to get a look at his back."

Zack helped Aerith sit Angeal up and she started cataloguing the cuts and bruises on his chest and back.

"Goodness!" she exclaimed. "What all damage did you take?"

It was not Angeal who replied, but Zack. He started listing seemingly everything that had happened in the battle, taking great care to detail all of Angeal's possible injuries. The most notable one was the one on Angeal's back, which Aerith could see for herself was pretty bad.

Zack listed them off so matter-of-factly, Aerith almost laughed.

"You forgot the Gravira," Angeal mused.

"Oh, right!" Zack said. "That one, too!"

"And you?" she asked, incredulous.

"Uh, well, mostly it was just the fuller of Genesis' sword to my chest. I think I Cured that one myself."

Aerith looked him over again, he didn't look bad. She turned her attention back to Angeal.

"Well, the Gravira explains why you took so much damage. It just weakens you so much…" Aerith said.

"How do you know that?" Zack asked.

"My mother was an herbalist."

Aerith made a mental note to get a book about Black Magic, just for personal reference. Mostly so she could figure out the White Magic to cure it all.

Aerith dug around in her kit until she found an ether. She handed it to Angeal.

"Take this."

He did so without arguing.

She focused her energy on the worst of the cuts and put several Curas into Angeal. Then she threw an Esuna on top of it. Angeal coughed.

"Thank you," he said.

"I feel like there's more I can do," Aerith said. "There's something else going on there…"

"That's just me," Angeal insisted. "There are some things magic cannot cure."

Aerith frowned, wanting to ask more about that, but she didn't. "Well, alright. Let's get both of you inside, at least. We'll get you a room and you can get settled for the night. I don't want either of you travelling until the morning."

She packed up her kit and offered up a hand to help Angeal up. Angeal took it and she got him up onto his feet. Zack picked up Angeal's sword.

"We'll probably have to buy you a new sword," Zack said. "Since your other one's broke."

"What's wrong with that sword?" Aerith asked. "It doesn't look broken."

"He tries not to use this one," Zack replied. "It's a family heirloom."

Angeal smirked. "Zack is lucky his life is more important than my sword."

Zack rolled his eyes.

The hotel owner was only mildly surprised to see someone asking for a hotel at that time of night. He gave Zack and Angeal a nice room for a decent price, saying that since Zack was a previous customer and Aerith was a current customer, he could pull a few strings in the system. Aerith helped get the two boys settled. She made Zack sit down on a bed in order to examine his cuts and scrapes.

"So tell me more about this Genesis," Aerith said, pulling out a cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol. Zack had a cut on his forehead that wasn't big enough to use a Cure on. Aerith was already a bit tired from the three Curas and one Esuna she'd already cast. "Why does he want you dead?" she continued.

"So Genesis was experimented on by a group of scientists on our home World," Zack began. "And because he was experimented on, his DNA is failing. He feels that he can use me to fix his DNA. There's something about my DNA…"

"Zack was exposed to mako energy as a child," Angeal interrupted. "He grew up near a reactor. The mako energy fused with his DNA and makes him a very good vessel for Genesis to use. What Genesis doesn't realize, is that it would be nearly impossible to use Zack to fix his own DNA. In theory, it works. In practice, I cannot think of a single way that would benefit Genesis in the way he wants. What that doesn't change, is that if Genesis gets a hold of Zack, Zack doesn't survive."

Aerith looked at Zack, shocked. "How can you treat this so lightly!" she asked, incredulous. "That's horrible!"

Zack shrugged. "I don't see the point in worrying about it. Genesis isn't _actually _going to get me. Angeal and I are gonna take care of it. I got Genesis pretty good today. I just, I didn't want to kill him. It's not fair, really. Even if he does want to kill me."

Aerith sighed. Zack had a point.

"I got him in the shoulder though," Zack said, smirking. "He's gonna have a hard time wielding his sword for a bit…"

Aerith sighed. Well, Zack tried.

She mopped up his scrapes. Then she figured she should probably take a look at his chest, since he took the broad side of a sword to it.

"Let me see that bruise of yours," Aerith said. "Where Genesis got you."

Zack rolled his eyes and yanked off his shirt. He did have the beginnings of a bruise right above his gut. Aerith sighed.

"How badly does that hurt?" she asked.

Zack shrugged. "Not really."

Angeal snickered.

"Are you lying?" Aerith asked.

Zack shook his head. "It really doesn't. I already used a Cure on it earlier."

Aerith nodded. "Right. I'll look at it again in the morning. I think right now, what's best for both of you is to sleep. I'll see you both tomorrow. Or, rather, later today."

"I haven't slept yet," Zack said. "It's still today."

Aerith laughed. "Right. Well. Sleep! I'll see you soon."

She started out the door.

"Oh, right. One last thing. You said you were looking to get a new sword. There's a blacksmith in Sixth District."

"Good to know!" Angeal said, nodding his head.

Aerith smiled. She was almost out the door, when she stopped. Without pausing to second-guess herself, she ran back over to Zack and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Zack grinned and sighed dramatically. He threw himself back on his bed, the sloppy grin still on his face. Aerith giggled and went out of the room.

On her way back to her own room, she pondered everything Zack had told her about Genesis. She clutched her hands to her chest and sighed. She hoped Zack and Angeal were right about being able to take care of Genesis. This man, Genesis, must surely be crazy. Above all else, however, she didn't want to lose Zack. Ever.

"Goddess protect him," she muttered.

She walked into her room and moved the knife back to a place where Yuffie couldn't get it. She leaned her staff up in the corner and put a bookmark in her book. She left that on the table as she went to her bedroom. She was tired. She looked over to Yuffie's bed and saw that she was asleep with her limbs all over the place. Aerith smiled and crawled into her own bed.


	21. Darkness Damages

**Author's Note: **Let's see... do I have anything to say? Not really. I'm drowning in school, but I'm still writing because I'm crazy. Yup. That's about it.

* * *

_Balamb City: Rinoa, Age 17_

They used the star shard to get back to the vicinity of Balamb. Rinoa was glad they didn't go straight for the Garden. It took a bit for her wings to fade. Edea told her that she would probably only have wings when she cast a lot of magic in a short amount of time. If she kept casting magic regularly, the wings might be a permanent thing.

This made Rinoa uneasy. Wings were an obvious sign of being a Sorceress and no one liked Sorceresses still. That hadn't changed. She wanted to ask Edea how she'd managed to go unnoticed as a Sorceress for so long—up until Ultimecia possessed her, that is. The answer was probably something along the lines of not casting magic frequently.

Rinoa's thoughts wandered to when she'd had magic a couple of years ago. She obviously wasn't a Sorceress then (something she'd pretty much already figured out, but now she had more to back it up with.) The wings were a new thing. And actually _being _a Sorceress felt… different. She had a lot more power now. She could feel it.

But then what _had _happened two years ago? The past couple of months had taught her that there was no way she could have had magic then. So how did she? She'd had magic for a good six months. She pursed her lips.

"You must be thinking about something," Zell said. "Your face is doing weird things."

"Hey!" she said.

"Zell, be nice," Quistis scolded.

"Is something on your mind?" Edea asked, her voice soft.

Rinoa scratched her head. "Just… thinking about Sorceresses," she said lamely.

"Anything I can help with?" Edea said.

Quistis muttered something about the headmaster, but Rinoa didn't hear what it was.

"Is it possible for someone to be able to use magic while not having a Guardian Force and also not being a Sorceress?" Rinoa asked, looking at Edea.

"That's not possible," Quistis answered. "Those are the only two…"

She paused, as Edea was shaking her head.

"There is one other way," she said.

"What is that?" Rinoa asked, eager to know the answer.

"If a Sorceress tried to possess someone who was _not _a Sorceress, the vessel would have some magic to use. What brought this up?" Edea frowned.

Rinoa bit her lip, knowing she'd have to tell the whole story. "Well, a couple of years ago, I had magic. But only for a few months."

Quistis' eyes went wide. Zell gasped. Edea sighed. Only Squall seemed unaffected.

After a moment, Edea spoke. "Adel. It had to have been Adel."

"What?" Rinoa asked. "But Adel's in containment."

"Likely she was trying to get out of containment," Edea said. "Or perhaps gain more power in order to go up against Ultimecia. If Adel were able to overcome Ultimecia, _she _would become the most powerful Sorceress in the World."

"So you're saying Adel possessed me in order to free herself?" Rinoa asked.

Edea nodded. "Yes. That sounds about right. Naturally, it was an unsuccessful attempt. The safeguards around Adel's prison must have kept her from being any more effective than giving you a little magic to use at your will."

Rinoa bit her lip. This made her uncomfortable.

"At the risk of repeating myself," Quistis said. "We should see the headmaster."

xx

_Traverse Town: Cid_

Cid was taking over the entire table. So much so that Aerith had gone to read in her room. She was still working on that staff of hers, but Cid needed the table. He had several books he needed to reference at once and the only place he could do that was the table. Thankfully, Aerith seemed to understand when she went to her own room.

First, there was the book he had about gummi blocks. Then, he had found a pamphlet specifically about star shards. That had been a lucky find in the second-hand book store. Then he'd gone to the library and checked out every single book he could find about space travel. He hoped no one else wanted them, because he planned to have them for a while.

He had just finished sorting the books about space travel into useful versus not useful. He wished he could discount all fiction as not useful, but after he'd found a fiction book detailing not gummi blocks, but gummi _ships_, he had to take a closer look at the fiction books. Go figure, some of the non-fiction books were completely useless.

Then there was the major plus—he actually had found a gummi block! Well, Yuffie had when she'd killed a Heartless the other day. Noticing how it wasn't munny or anything else she could use, she'd given it to Cid, feigning disinterest. Cid had promptly hidden it so she couldn't decide that she wanted it back later.

His useful books all compiled, Cid started reading. It was too late in the day to take the un-useful ones back to the library. He almost wished Zack was still here so he could compare what he read to the star shard. Granted, it really wouldn't be that much help. He'd memorized just about every centimeter of that star shard. He just wanted it to be there for reference.

As it turned out, star shards were a type of gummi block. He wasn't too surprised to learn that by the time he read it for certain. Given how everything seemed to reference gummi blocks, it only made sense. What was interesting about star shards, was that they required specific knowledge of how to use them, otherwise they would act up randomly.

This intrigued Cid. From what he'd seen, the two people he met who had star shards seemed to have a good enough grasp on them. However, it would seem that Zack had a hard time landing. And, if he remembered correctly, the trio that had been there not too long ago had mostly just vaguely wished for something and were brought to it.

Star shards were certainly interesting things. But so were gummi blocks as a whole. Cid picked up the book that talked about gummi ships. He learned that it took hundreds, if not thousands, of gummi blocks to create a gummi ship. One also needed a navigation gummi if one expected to get anywhere far. Funny how that was so restricting.

Another pamphlet that Cid read said that gummi blocks didn't used to be so restricted. In fact, the restrictions were a new thing—caused by the darkness that was covering all the Worlds. Cid wasn't sure if he believed it fully, but it definitely was a good theory. Darkness messed with enough things as it was, what's this one?

Would star shards cease to work, if the darkness messed with too much? Cid couldn't answer that question. If that were the case, it would at least be obvious. Perhaps star shards were the navigation gummis, freeing them from most restrictions. Cid almost hoped they were, for Zack and Aerith's sake. He didn't want to see them separated by something so simple.

He also somewhat wanted Leon to come home. Sure, the boy was off having his own adventure and hopefully redeeming himself. Still though, Cid wouldn't want him to get trapped somewhere far away from the makeshift home they had started to make. Cid continued reading, resolving to make a gummi ship of his own in order to prevent all the above from happening.

xx

_Balamb Garden: Leon, Age 17_

"So let me get this straight," Leon said, raising an eyebrow. "Ultimecia and Adel were responsible for the Sorceress War—Ultimecia because she wanted to become immortal and Adel because she wanted to challenge Ultimecia. However, Adel was the only one who was caught and is currently in a containment facility above a city named Esthar?"

"Yes," Rinoa answered. "In your words, I suppose we'd say they're both on the path to darkness."

"I'm not sure if those are my words," Leon said, shrugging. "But sure. Let's go with that."

"And in light of that, I think it is highly logical for the four of you to go to Esthar and try and have Rinoa here absorb Adel's powers," the headmaster said. "Absorbing Adel's powers should give us the advantage over Ultimecia."

Edea frowned. "Cid," she said quietly. "Absorbing more than one Sorceress' power is dangerous. She could actually be killed. No one person has held more than one set of powers."

"But it's the best shot we have," the headmaster argued

Leon disagreed. While the plan certainly seemed logical and gave them the best advantage over Ultimecia, who was their ultimate goal, there were too many variables and dangers. Rinoa shouldn't have to risk death.

"How about we let Rinoa decide what she thinks of the idea," Leon interrupted. Surely she would see the flaws and disagree. Then he could back her up and everyone would be forced to come up with another idea.

Rinoa thought about her answer for a moment. "Well, if it's the best shot the World has, then I suppose I'm for it."

Leon gaped at her. "You're being ridiculous! It could kill you!"

Rinoa turned to him, frowning. "Look, Headmaster Cid already said it was the best shot we've got. I've already got one set of Sorceress powers, maybe I can handle a second. If I have that much power, I'm guaranteed to be able to take on Ultimecia."

Leon couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was being so… so… noble!

A small voice in the back of his head reminded him that he'd done the same exact thing many times. He tried to quiet it, reminding himself that what he did was different. What Rinoa was doing was almost certain suicide.

"Rinoa," Edea warned. "Taking on so much power _will _be dangerous, even if it succeeds. You must be careful to not let that much power consume you. In earlier times, when Sorceresses were more popular, there were what we would call 'Sorceress Knights', people sworn to protect the Sorceress from her own power. You should look to one of your friends for that responsibility."

"I'll do it," Leon volunteered almost immediately. He looked at Rinoa. "I still think you're being stupid about wanting to do this. But I'll do it. I'll make sure the power doesn't become too much for you."

She turned to look at him, shocked. "Thank you," she said with a polite nod.

"Mm-hmm." What had he just gotten himself into?

"So you're not coming with us?" Zell asked, looking at Edea.

She shook her head. "I'm virtually useless without my powers. And I'm a liability at that. I'll be sure to teach Rinoa what I can before you go."

Zell frowned, but thankfully he saw the logic behind it.

xx

_Outside the Castle of Dreams: Cloud, Age 15_

Cloud enjoyed travelling. He liked the feeling of the wind in his hair and the sun on his back. There was also something about the air away from Nibelheim, away from Shinra, away from it all that felt… cleaner. It was nice.

After leaving Nibelheim, Cloud had made his way to Midgar, one of the most technologically advanced cities he'd ever been to—even to this day. After wandering around the streets for a bit, he heard word of motorcycles that could take people to different Worlds. At first, he thought the crazy man talking about them was just that—crazy. Turns out, he wasn't lying. On a whim, Cloud ended up putting a deposit down on a simple motorcycle that would supposedly take him to new Worlds. The best thing about it, the motorcycle did just that. He was glad it hadn't have been a waste of money. If it had been, he would have written it off as a teenage screw up and probably gotten himself a job to re-make the money.

However, it had worked!

Cloud had gone to a few Worlds since then, seeing the sites, killing the darn Heartless, keeping mostly to himself. This World he was on in particular interested him because there was a castle. He hadn't seen a castle before. And here he was, on the top of a hill, just staring at it. It was so magnificent and beautiful. The stones shining white and the battlements well-kept. It was like an image out of a storybook. Even the town around it looked happily maintained. He resolved to go see it all tomorrow, considering it was nearly nightfall. Most places operated during the day.

His mind set, Cloud unloaded his things and set up camp. One of the nicest things about a motorcycle was that he didn't have to carry everything in a pack. He could store stuff on the back of the bike and not really worry about it. It was nice, convenient.

Once camp was set up, Cloud ate a little bit, then settled down to go to sleep.

However long it was later, Cloud would never be sure, he woke to a very uncomfortable feeling. It was frightening, even. Cloud sat bolt upright and grabbed his sword, trying to see whatever it was that had given him the feeling.

There were Heartless everywhere! Cloud started attacking and fighting. After several minutes of that, he began to think it was futile. He threw what he could on the back of the bike and got on. He started the bike up and tried to get away. However, the bike wouldn't move forward. It was as if something behind him was dragging him back.

He looked behind him and saw something to the effect of a black hole. He gunned the bike harder, but to no avail. He was dragged farther and father backwards. He got the sickening feeling that he wasn't going to be able to outrun it. He let go of the handlebars and gripped his sword. If nothing else, he'd be armed wherever he showed up.

It was perhaps the scariest experience of his life, getting sucked into that thing. Scarier than leaving home. He really had no idea what was going to happen next. The Heartless got sucked in too and he tried batting them away with his sword. The smaller ones looked just as scared as he felt, though the larger ones still looked very menacing.

Cloud screamed, though he knew no one heard.

Cloud couldn't see anymore. There was no light where he was. He couldn't even hear anything anymore. Darkness pressed up against him from all sides. He thrashed about, but that only seemed to make it worse. He screamed again, but he couldn't even hear himself. He tried not to panic.

What was going to happen to him?


	22. Another Sorceress

**Author's Note: **Muahahaha! *drops battle in your lap* In other news, there's a Can't Escape chapter involving my Axel and rar's Riku. Check it out!

* * *

_Lunar Base: Leon, Age 18_

"So this is where they keep Adel?" Zell asked.

Quistis nodded. Leon rolled his eyes. Obviously this is where they kept the Sorceress. Why else would they even be here?

"I just find it cool that we're above the planet," Zell mused.

"Zell, we've been _off _planet before," Rinoa reminded him. "That's how we found Squall."

Leon rolled his eyes again. He couldn't be bothered to tell her to call him by Leon. She said she liked the name Squall better because it was his true name. Though, apparently, she didn't have much room to talk. She'd changed her last name after running away from home. Girls.

"Do you think they mind us wandering around here, though," Zell said. "I mean, we didn't actually ask…"

"We're already here. Let's just do what we came here for and get it over with," Leon said. He looked to the other two. Quistis nodded and Rinoa shrugged. Well, at least Quistis agreed.

It had taken them months of planning to figure out just how they were going to get to Adel's containment facility without running into trouble. They didn't want to go through the politics of Esthar, so they'd pretended to be a tourist group. Zell needed to stop asking questions, lest he get them in trouble. The plan was to get into the room Adel was contained in with no one else to interfere, break the seal and then fight her. Everything after that was up to Rinoa.

"Hello," said one of the workers on the base, interrupting Leon from his thoughts. "Are you the tourist group?"

"Yes," Quistis said, moving herself to the front of the party. "Yes we are."

"Excellent!" the man said. "My name is Piet and I'll be taking care of you during your stay here. Is there anything about the facility that you'd like to see in particular?"

"We'd like to see the containment room, specifically," Rinoa said.

"We can do that," Piet said. "I can have a guide take you in there in a half hour."

Leon groaned internally. They didn't want a guide! He exchanged glances with Quistis. She looked just about as put-out as he did.

"Would it be possible to just have you take me there by myself?" Rinoa asked. "I'd like to take a look around just by myself."

_What are you doing? _Leon thought to himself. He shot Rinoa a frantic look, but she was looking only at Piet. _You can't fight Adel alone! What are you, crazy? _

The short answer to that question was yes. She had to be crazy. This whole thing was crazy.

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Piet said with a frown. "It's against…"

"Please!" Rinoa pleaded. "I'm a scholar! I'm literally here to study Adel as a Sorceress. I promise I won't do anything harmful. The whole reason why I came on this trip was so I could get some time to study Sorceresses and their power. I know there won't be much I am able to do given how Adel is contained, but this is the best shot I've got."

Leon watched her cross her fingers behind her back. Why that little liar…

"Well, I suppose if it's for research…" Piet said. "Will you friends need to go in as well?"

Rinoa shrugged. "I would like them too. But I understand if it's a liability…"

"No," Piet said. "It shouldn't be a problem. Just, don't wreck anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Rinoa said, smiling.

Her fingers were still crossed.

"This way," Piet said.

xx

The four of them stood in the containment room, looking at the Sorceress Adel. She was certainly larger than Leon had imagined. She seemed to be a giant, easily two or three stories high. She was also ugly. Leon wrinkled his nose at the sight.

"You little liar, you," Quistis said, looking at Rinoa. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Well, we had to get in here somehow. I figured the innocent look might get us in there. And throwing in the bit about being a scholar certainly helped. I didn't even have to pretend I was dating anyone!"

"That could have backfired," Quistis said.

"I would have pretended," Zell said, inching closer to Rinoa.

"Okay, we're done now," Leon said. "We've got business to take care of while we're here. Flirting is not among that business."

"Well ex_cuse _me," Zell grumbled.

"Where are the seals?" Leon asked.

"Hold on, let me see," Quistis said. She cast a Scan spell. After a moment, she replied. "There are three, there, there, and there." She pointed. Two of them were easily reached from the ground. The third one, however, was above Adel.

"Let me guess, we have to open them all at the same time," Zell said.

"Preferably," Quistis replied.

"Well, how are we going to get to that one?" Zell asked. "We don't have a ladder."

"No," Rinoa said. "But you have me. One sec…" A look of concentration crossed her face. Then she cast four Cures in a row—one for each of them—and then a Blizzard off to the side.

"Uh, isn't that a waste of…" Zell began.

"Unlimited casting!" Rinoa said, grinning as wings sprouted from her back. "Being a Sorceress has it's perks."

She started to fly up to the third seal, though she was a bit unstable. She laughed nervously. "Flying… flying is new."

"Be careful," Leon warned.

She just nodded and got to the seal.

"Zell, Leon," Quistis said. "You get the other two. I'll cast a good Stop in the hopes that maybe that'll give us some more time to get her."

Leon nodded and ran up to one of the seals. Zell ran up to the other. Leon mentally went over the checklist for this battle in his head. Adel was to be treated much like Edea, except they had to assume that Adel was more powerful, just in case. Adel _was _locked up for a reason, while Edea had been able to manage in the World quietly with no one to bother her.

"Everyone ready?" Zell asked.

"Ready," Quistis replied.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Rinoa said.

"Go for it," Leon said.

The three started turning the levers on the seals.

Leon found his rather tough to move and he hoped neither Zell nor Rinoa had problems. He didn't worry too much about Zell, but he couldn't be sure how much arm strength Rinoa had.

Despite any worries, all three of them got the seals undone at about the same time. There was an expulsion of gas as the giant door opened.

"You had all better back up!" Quistis shouted.

Leon started running.

Quistis cast Stop. "We've got thirty seconds!" she shouted. "Hit her with all you've got!"

Leon turned around to see that Adel was still mostly in her casing, but her arms were outstretched as if to grab someone, as opposed to folded over her chest. She was frozen in place. Zell was already running towards her. He landed a good punch. Leon doubled-back and got her with his blade.

"Let's lower her vitality, yeah?" Rinoa said, smirking. Then she cast Meltdown.

Zell and Quistis were certainly impressed. So was Leon. Rinoa was getting a lot better at casting. Especially switching between dark and light magics easily.

Unfortunately, then Adel woke up and retaliated with Meteor. Which was painful. Rinoa didn't even seem fazed, she cast a second Meltdown right away. Zell ran in for another punch. Leon wasn't sure if it was a good idea to get close to her, but since Zell got away with it okay, he ran forward and used his blade again.

Adel responded with a painful physical attack. Zell punched her again. Leon charged her with his blade. Quistis got in a good _thwap _with her whip. Rinoa cast a general Cure for the group. It was lucky she could do that. Quistis got in another attack before Adel cast Meteor again.

"I don't like her," Leon muttered, running at her with his blade. He got in a couple of good swipes before ducking back. She unleashed another physical attack that sent him flying. Immediately after, she cast Meteor. Rinoa cast another round of Cures.

"Perhaps you should be on the offensive," Quistis suggested, getting Adel with her whip.

"Or I could just do this," Rinoa said, putting barriers in front of all of them. "That'll help against the physical attacks and the Meteor." Then, however, to follow what Quistis said, she cast Firaga at Adel.

Adel did her physical attack again. Leon noticed how it did hurt less, thanks to the barrier. Then Adel cast another spell that made the ground tremble and quake under their feet. Leon felt like he should have broken at least an arm, but the barrier Rinoa had cast around them seemed to protect him from that.

They all launched into a round of physical attacks against Adel, even Rinoa. Then repeated that process.

Adel cast Ultima. Though Rinoa's barrier stopped some of the damage, some still got through. Leon staggered, but joined in with Zell and Quistis on a round of physical attacks while Rinoa set to Curing them.

Quistis got in one more attack before Adel used her physical attack and cast Meteor in quick succession. Leon and Zell and Rinoa were all knocked back. Somehow, Quistis managed to avoid it. Rinoa leapt up into the air.

"I thought you had a barrier around us?" Zell asked.

"It doesn't work against everything!" Rinoa said.

"Let me add something to it…" Quistis muttered. She cast Float. Leon found himself floating about a foot off the ground. Interesting.

Then Adel used her physical attack again, followed by Holy.

"Oh that's just not fair!" Rinoa said, trying her best to dodge everything. She cast both Blizzaga and Thundaga right after one another.

Despite floating a foot off the ground, Leon had no trouble running right up to Adel and slashing at her again. He ran exactly like he usually would, except one foot up.

Rinoa sent out another round of Cures. Adel cast Quake again, but it didn't seem to do even less harm than it had done before. When the ground quieted, the four launched into another round of physical attacks.

Then Rinoa cast Meteor.

Enraged, Adel cast several spells right at once. Flare, Meteor, Holy, Ultima.

Rinoa's barriers broke down and Leon knew that he took pretty much the whole brunt of both Holy and Ultima. He staggered backwards and fell to the ground.

His body was telling him to get back up and slash Adel as many times as he could possibly manage. His brain was panicking. He couldn't see anything outside of a bright white light. Everything also sounded like he was trying to listen to it out of a sea shell. It was all muffled and warped-sounding. What… what was happening?

A scream pierced through the muddle, but he couldn't identify it nor stand up to see who had screamed. He growled and tried to put all of his energy into standing, but no energy came. He heard the clicking of heels echoing off to one side. He turned his head. Through the white light came a figure. Quistis.

"Curaga!" she shouted. He only barely heard the words.

The white light faded and Leon could see more clearly. He heard more screams, but he was too busy looking at Quistis to try and identify them.

"What…?" he began.

Quistis put a finger to her lips, quieting him. She got to her feet and held out a hand to help Leon up.

"How did you…?"

"I reinforced the barrier at the last second," Quistis said. "But I could only get it on me. I didn't have time…"

"What about Zell?" Leon interrupted. "And Rinoa?"

Quistis pointed to where Zell was lying on the ground. Leon cringed.

"He's unconscious, but alive," Quistis said. Leon breathed a sigh of relief. "As for Rinoa…"

Quistis pointed up in the air. Leon looked.

Rinoa was hovering perhaps ten feet from Adel's face. From what Leon could see, she looked angry. Very angry. She was casting spell after spell after spell, without stopping or faltering. Meteor. Meteor. Tornado. Thunder. Meteor. Meltdown. Aero. Ultima. Meltdown. Thunder. Meltdown. Meteor. Meteor. Holy. Rinoa didn't even look tired. Leon couldn't stop looking at her, shocked.

"She's reached her limit," Quistis said quietly. "And she's using that adrenaline to pump more and more spells at Adel."

At last, Adel started to quaver. She fell to her knees and put her hands in front of her face, screaming in pain. Then she began to fade.

Rinoa threw her arms open wide and accepted the Sorceress power.

Then she fell to the ground and collapsed herself. Leon ran over to her and cradled her in his arms.


	23. Any Beach Will Do

**Author's Note: **bask in the glorious Zerith feels. That is all. (review responses and other information on the blog)

* * *

_Traverse Town: Zack, Age 17_

_Ah, Traverse Town, _Zack thought to himself as his star shard dropped him unceremoniously in the middle of the Fifth District. He picked himself up, brushed himself off, and started heading for the Second District, where Aerith's place was.

He intentionally showed up in the less-populated Fifth District because he was less likely to fall on someone, like he had his first time here. For a while, he tended to show up right in Second District, by the Hotel, but he always got weird looks. No one tended to notice him when he showed up in the First or the Fifth Districts. Not that he particularly cared if anyone saw him, but he was really over the weird looks.

Angeal said he was off to investigate darkness befalling a couple of Worlds and it might be best if Zack didn't come along just in case Angeal had to get out of there in a jiffy. Angeal was worried that Genesis might be responsible for the darkness, but Zack didn't think that was the case. Genesis was mostly after Zack, not after darkness.

Nevertheless, Angeal wanted to check it out. So, like any other time when Zack had a moment to himself, he went to see Aerith.

Well, sometimes he didn't go _see _Aerith, he just wrote her a letter. But most of the time, he went and saw Aerith.

He wasn't going to question how they managed to write letters back and forth and the letters always managed to get to each other. Granted, Aerith hadn't left Traverse Town in years. Zack, however, was always on the move. Yet Aerith's letters always showed up.

At last he was in Second District. He marched right into the hotel and up to where Aerith's room was. The hotel manager didn't even blanch. For all intents and purposes, Zack was a frequent customer—something that was rare in Traverse Town. Usually, people in Traverse Town stayed forever, or got out quick. Aerith, Cid, and Yuffie were of the people who seemed to be staying forever, though they'd only been there for a couple of years. They had a fourth person living with them—Leon—but he'd left over a year ago and hadn't been seen since. Though, he'd written a couple of letters since leaving, so it wasn't like he was dead or anything.

Zack knocked on the door and was let into the room-suite by Yuffie.

Yuffie was about nine years old, if Zack remembered correctly. She liked to consider herself a great ninja, which most people found amusing. She saluted him when he walked in and he humored her by saluting back. She grinned and let him in.

Cid was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book. Zack nodded in Cid's direction. Cid replied with a grunt.

Aerith peeked her head out of the other room, probably to see what was going on. When she saw Zack, her whole face lit up and she came running up to him. She threw her arms around him and Zack held her close.

"You're the second excitement of the day!" she said.

"Second?"

"Leon wrote. He said he was off to fight another evil Sorceress and not to expect him home anytime soon. Apparently, after he gets rid of this Sorceress, there's still one more he needs to go after."

"Sheesh! That's a lot of evil Sorceresses!" Zack said.

"I know, right?" Aerith grumbled. "I would be happy to see him home safe. But I know he's out there with other people making sure _they _stay safe, so I can't really complain. But now you're here and I'm so happy!"

Zack smiled. He liked making Aerith happy. He'd wanted to make her happy since the day they first met.

He noticed Aerith's pink-and-white skirt and smiled wider. He'd suggested long ago that she should wear pink more often because it looked good on her. He was almost glad to see her wear pink. Not as glad as he was to see her wear her pink hair ribbon, however.

"How's life?" he asked. He grabbed her hand.

"Oh, it's good," Aerith said. "Nothing's really new since my last letter to you. I mean, I finished my staff and it's been a great help with me not getting so exhausted from casting magic, but I told you that. Yuffie's in school… oh! I mastered the Holy spell, I think!"

"She's cer'ainly gott'n better at the darn thing," Cid muttered.

Aerith nodded enthusiastically.

"Aside from that, we've got a new type of Heartless," Aerith said, frowning. "More mechanical. I don't get it."

"Why d'you thin' I'm researchin'?" Cid grumbled.

Aerith rolled her eyes.

"Hey, well, I've got some spare munny," Zack said. "Would you like to go out for dinner? Likely we'll run into these new Heartless and I'll see if I know anything. Angeal said he was out to do some research on the darkness, too."

"Have 'im touch base with me, yeah?" Cid suggested.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "Sure thing." He turned back to Aerith. "So, dinner?"

Aerith bit her lip and looked in the direction of Yuffie.

Yuffie was playing with a tennis ball. She was bouncing it on the common wall between the two rooms so as not to disturb other guests.

"I'll put 'er teh bed," Cid said. "You two go an' have fun."

Aerith grinned. Zack was fairly certain he was grinning too. Aerith squeezed his hand. "Where to?" she asked.

He started leading her out the door. "Wherever you want to go, my lady."

She blushed. "Well, there's the pub, it's not too late, we'll be able to get in there without anyone thinking anything of it."

"I'm almost old enough to drink in pubs," Zack said.

Aerith laughed. "You and I both know you've still got almost a year, so don't lie."

Zack stuck out his tongue.

The two of them went to the pub anyway and were seated almost immediately.

"It's dead in here," Zack said.

Aerith shrugged. "Maybe it's just the time of day. Or it was the mass amount of Heartless we had this morning. A lot of people might just be tired."

"I'd think some of them might want a drink," Zack said, shrugging.

Aerith shrugged as well.

"So what do you mean by a lot of Heartless?" Zack asked.

"Oh, it was like a whole flood of them! All black and nasty! Nearly everyone joined in on the fight. Cid's thinking about building some sort of cannon for if that happens again. Right now, he just has his spear. I've been meaning to teach him how to channel magic through it. We just haven't gotten around to it."

"Well, good that he finally has a weapon, I suppose," Zack said.

Aerith nodded. "He went for the longest time just sticking to research and complaining that he wasn't able to bring his cannon from Radiant Garden. But we don't have the spare money for him to be investing in another cannon right now. We're not bad off, just not good enough off to build a cannon. Thankfully, spears are cheap to make and maintain."

Zack nodded.

"How have things been with you?" Aerith asked.

"Um, well, ran into Genesis again," Zack said, making a face.

Aerith wrinkled her nose.

"It wasn't even a very big confrontation, though," Zack ensured her. "He mostly just quoted poetry and lamented about his degradation and being a monster. Unfortunately, he can use a sword again. He and Angeal had a bit of a spat. But, before I could get involved, he took off. I don't even know what was going on."

"Still, that's a bit disconcerting," Aerith said.

"Yeah," Zack said, shrugging. "But what can you do?"

Aerith didn't answer him. Rather she had a question of her own.

"What's it like, going out and travelling the Worlds?"

"Pretty fun, I guess," Zack answered. "I mean, it's exactly what I wanted to be doing with my life. Well, I suppose it wasn't always that, I grew up knowing I wanted to be a hero of sorts. But now that I'm out travelling and spending time with Angeal, I realize that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Go out there and see all the Worlds."

Zack paused. "I suppose I haven't really described what it's like though…"

Aerith shook her head.

"It's a really great experience," Zack said. "Every World is different. Sometimes, the people look different, but they're all the same inside, really. There are Worlds that are hot all year round. There are Worlds that make you feel like you're standing among giants. There are Worlds that have monsters outside of Heartless, though most Worlds have Heartless, if I'm going to be honest. There are Worlds that have loads of technology, and some that are simpler. Some Worlds believe in more magic than others, too." Zack wasn't sure what else to say. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Aerith said. "You're looking a girl who's always known other Worlds have existed, but never thought she'd leave her home for anything. And now, here I am."

"Would you like to come along sometime?" Zack asked.

Aerith frowned. "I don't know… I'm needed here. I don't think I could dump Yuffie on poor Cid and with Leon gone, I'm usually out taking care of Heartless at least twice a day."

"What if it were just for an evening?" Zack asked. "I'll show you a sight or two, we'll make a date out of it, then I'll bring you right back here."  
"You can do that?" Aerith asked.

"Don't see why not!" Zack replied.

"All right. Are we going tonight?"

Zack shrugged. "Whatever you want to do."

"Can I see what a beach looks like?" Aerith says. "Yuffie's been learning about them in school and I would like to see one for myself."

Zack grinned. "I think I can arrange that."

So they ordered their food and ate it happily, talking about this and that as they did. They didn't have to worry about being careful what they said about other Worlds. The people of Traverse Town were accustomed to the idea. After Zack had paid for the bill, he took Aerith's hand and led her outside.

"I never like leaving from inside," he said.

"I know," Aerith replied, laughing a little. "This isn't the first time I've watched you leave."

"Yes, but this is the first time you're coming with me!"

He tightened his grip on Aerith's hand and pulled out the star shard. Truth be told, he'd never actually been anywhere with a beach. Well, aside from Costa del Sol back home, but that was a giant tourist trap.

_Just, any beach… _Zack thought, squeezing the star shard. _A pretty one…_

They arrived on the shore of some beach, looking out at a sparkling blue ocean and an even more vibrant blue sky.

"Whoa," Aerith gasped, obviously amazed.

"Yeah," Zack said, looking around. He was surprised to find that there was a castle. He nudged Aerith and as soon as he had her attention, he pointed to it.

It was a seaside castle, and probably built there for the view. Zack wondered who lived there. No matter, they weren't going to go looking, just in case the owner wasn't friendly. Zack wasn't going to take any chances. Not when he had Aerith on a date!

"How did you know to come here?" Aerith asked quietly.

"A hunch," Zack replied.

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah."

"It's unreal, even!"

Zack laughed.

Aerith walked closer to the waves and slid off her boots. She picked up her skirts and stepped into the water.

"The sand feels funny," she said.

Zack took off his boots as well. The sand scrunched beneath his toes. He laughed again.

"Yeah, it does!"

He rolled up his pants and waded out into the ocean as well. Then, he and Aerith spent the better part of an hour splashing around in the water. Sand got everywhere, and it didn't matter how careful they were, their clothes got soaked.

After a bit, Aerith said that she should probably go home. As much as Zack wanted to just spend more time with her, he knew she was right. They put their boots back on, but they didn't go anywhere just yet. They just sat on a rock, looking out into the ocean.

"I'm really glad we did this," Aerith said.

"Yeah, me too," Zack said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Maybe we can do it again?"

"Sure thing!" Zack said. "Next time I come over, I'll take you somewhere different, for an afternoon or something."

"Okay!"

Zack would have to start thinking about good places to take Aerith, but that shouldn't be too hard to figure out. He had a little bit of time, too. He was supposed to meet up with Angeal soon, and who knew when the next time he'd be able to see Aerith was. As much as he hoped for sooner rather than later, he also knew that that couldn't always happen.

He grabbed Aerith's hand.

"Ready?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly.

"To Traverse Town!"


	24. Story within a Story

**Author's Note: **Erm... chapter! Yay! (Nothing else to say...)

* * *

_Esthar: Rinoa, Age 18_

Rinoa slowly opened her eyes. Something was rocking her up and down. She almost felt like she was being carried. But when light flooded her eyes, she had to squint them back shut again. She groaned. She was immensely aware of all the power flowing through her. But she had no clue what she was supposed to be doing with any of it, if she was going to be honest with herself. She did a more extended reach out and realized that her wings had faded. How long had she been out? The amount of magic she'd been casting against Adel would have probably ensured her wings stay for a while…

She opened her eyes again, forcing herself to blink through the light. She was surprised to find that Squall was carrying her. However, she didn't have the slightest clue where she was. They didn't appear to be on the Lunatic Pandora anymore. But she didn't recognize where they were.

"Hey, looks like someone's awake," Quistis said.

Rinoa turned her head and saw Quistis walking next to them. She nodded.

"Thought you were a goner back there," Zell said.

"Shut up, Zell," Squall muttered.

"Where are we?" Rinoa asked. Her voice cracked. Lovely.

"Esthar," Squall replied. "The president wants to know how we managed to get rid of Adel. I just hope we're not in trouble."

"Won't tell until we get there," Quistis muttered.

"Right," Rinoa said. "Well, I suppose you can put me down, that way I'm not being a bother."

"It's no bother," Squall said, but he set her down anyway.

Rinoa walked with them the rest of the way. She noted that there weren't any officials to guide them. Were they just expected to march right up to the president's office? Without even knowing where it was? That seemed odd.

It then became apparent, that though they didn't have any official guides, most of the city's officials seemed to know why they were there and shuffled them off in the direction of where the president was. Eventually, they arrived at a very large business building and the doorman gave them directions to where the president's office was.

"You'd think there'd be more security," Squall muttered. "Back on my home, our king had so many guards it was ridiculous."

"You're talking about the World you grew up on, aren't you?" Rinoa asked.

He nodded, but he didn't say anything else. Not that Rinoa expected him to.

As they got closer and closer to the president's office, the carpeting started becoming more and more regal and nice to walk on. Rinoa almost felt weird for walking on it, though she knew she'd look completely weird if she started walking on the cobblestones off to the side.

They arrived at a single door, there was nowhere else to go.

"Guess this is it," Squall said.

"I'll knock!" Zell volunteered.

Rinoa smiled as Quistis sighed and Squall rubbed his temples.

The doors seemed to open of their own accord. This impressed Rinoa, though she wasn't going to say anything about it out loud.

The president's desk chair was turned around, facing the window behind the desk, rather than the door in front of it. But as the group entered, he turned around. Rinoa noted a clean-shaven man with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. He was dressed very casually for a president. Rinoa found this odd, being surrounded by so many government officials back in Galbadia. She knew better than to mention it, however. Something about him looked familiar, but she couldn't place it.

Quistis mentioned something about how the man looked a bit like Squall, but no one had time to comment on it before the president stood up and shook all their hands.

"I'm Laguna Loire," he said, introducing himself.

The rest of them introduced themselves and he came around and stood in front of his desk, though he leaned against it. Rinoa didn't know what to make of him.

"So you're the crew that took care of Adel, are you?" he asked.

"Yes, we are," Quistis said.

"Well, how'd you manage it?" He sounded more curious than anything else.

"I absorbed her powers," Rinoa said. "Which makes me a Sorceress, I suppose."

That was a lie. She knew all too well that she was a Sorceress, but there wasn't any harm in downplaying it.

"You're not going to go off and hurt anyone, are you?" Laguna asked, looking right at her.

"I don't think so, no," Rinoa replied.

Laguna shrugged. "Then I don't see any harm in letting you guys just go and roam around and do whatever. The reason why we had to put Adel in that containment facility was because she was trying to kill everyone. If you're not dangerous, I don't see any point in doing the same to you."

"Uh, thanks," Rinoa said.

"Why'd you decide to go after Adel, anyway?" he asked.

"Ever heard of Ultimecia?" Quistis asked.

"Can't say I have, no," Laguna said.

"She's a Sorceress that exists at the end of time. Rinoa absorbed Adel's power so that we could maybe go after Ultimecia and destroy her before she destroys this World."

"What's she doing to the World?" Laguna asked.

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to know," Quistis scoffed. "Esthar is generally separate from everything else. But Ultimecia is bringing about large amounts of Heartless—monsters made out of darkness—in order to plunge the World into chaos so she can rule it."

"Oh, we have Heartless, all right," Laguna said. He reached behind him and patted a machine gun on his desk. "Reasons why I keep this thing around. So, you're sure this Sorceress, Ultimecia, is behind all that?"

Everyone else nodded.

"All right then. You're quite the feisty bunch to want to go after her."

"We're just trying to save the World," Zell said.

Laguna laughed. "Honorable enough."

Suddenly, it clicked in Rinoa's brain. She knew who this man was!

"You're my mom's mercenary!" she exclaimed before she had a chance to stop herself.

Laguna looked a bit taken aback. "Pardon?"

"Sorry," Rinoa said, flushing bright red. "Just, my mother, she always spoke of her mercenary who never came home. Maybe I'm completely wrong… but I saw a picture once, and you look just like him."

"Who's your mother?"

"Julia Heartily," Rinoa answered.

A look of shock crossed Laguna's face.

"Well, then, yes. I suppose, I _am _your mother's mercenary."

"What?" Rinoa asked, incredulous. "No way! How come you never came back to her?"

Laguna smiled sadly. "If you have time, I'd like to tell the whole story."

"I suppose there's no rush," Quistis said. "Ultimecia's at the end of time and we still have to figure out how we're going to get there. I would imagine we can spend a little bit more time here…"

"Right," Laguna said. "So many, many years ago, I was part of the Galbadian army. Now, before you all get all up in arms about that, let me explain that at the time, I thought it was for a good cause. But as soon as I realized it wasn't, I left…"

He continued telling the story and Rinoa recognized the first little bit of it. He resigned from his army position, knowing that there was no way he was going to make enough munny otherwise to be able to afford a house to bring Julia Heartily home to. Despite that, he was so fed up with Galbadia's antics that he became a hired mercenary instead.

"I went off-world," Laguna explained. "I thought I could find munny that way. It was working out pretty well. Unfortunately, someone destroyed my way home and I was stranded in a place called Radiant Garden."

"No way," Squall muttered.

If Laguna heard, he didn't acknowledge it. He just kept telling his story. "I wasn't too bothered. I was helping their king, Ansem, bring peace to the realm. I figured I'd be able to find new transportation back home as soon as that was sorted out. Unfortunately, then I was injured and not fit to travel. The woman who nursed me back to health was wonderful, however. She was the city healer. I confess I fell in love with her instead. We got married and I adopted her daughter, Ellone."

Rinoa frowned. It saddened her to think that this man had fallen for someone else rather than her mother. She was almost glad her mother didn't know the true fate of Laguna, for it would probably break her heart. Rinoa had often imagined what it would be like if the legendary mercenary was her father instead of the gruel military general. But Rinoa very quickly decided that she was glad this man was _not _her father.

"We lived peacefully until Ellone was captured by Adel," Laguna was saying. "Funny how stuff from my home world came to haunt me." Laguna laughed. "But I promised Raine that I would bring Ellone back. It wasn't too hard to rescue Ellone, honestly. But I knew I couldn't just let Adel remain out there where she could snatch Ellone back up easily. So I went to take Ellone to Julia, actually, because I figured I could ask Julia a favor. It was a dumb idea, thinking back on it, but that's what I figured I would do. However, then I learned that Julia had married General Caraway and thought better of that idea. So I brought Ellone to Balamb Garden and left her in the care of Cid and Edea while I took care of Adel.

"Edea was very nice and informed me that I couldn't just _kill _Adel, I'd have to restrain her. So I got a whole bunch of people together and we built the Lunatic Pandora and I led the fight to capture Adel. I was so excited when it worked! So I set back off to Balamb Garden to gather Ellone and head back to Radiant Garden—despite it having been two years since I started the darn mission."

"Know how that feels," Quistis muttered.

"I arrived at Balamb Garden to unfortunate news," Laguna continued, his voice grave. "I had a letter waiting for me, informing me that Raine had died—nearly a year prior. Rather than go back and try and rebuild a life there, I thought I should just take Ellone with me back to Esthar, where I was already appreciated as a war hero.

"But even that wasn't going to work out. Edea informed me that Ellone has the magical power to send people's consciousness's back and forward in time, which would make her a target for any Sorceress. So we devised the plan for Ellone to constantly be travelling the world under protection of elite group of SeeDs to make her a her a harder target to find."

"The white SeeDs?" Quistis whispered. Rinoa figured that comment must be to herself, because no one else seemed to know what she meant. Perhaps Zell did, but he didn't say anything.

Laguna continued. "I came back here to Esthar and somehow landed myself the presidentship. But Ellone and I visit frequently. She's a grown woman now, so it's not too out of the ordinary." Laguna laughed nervously. "Do you think that Ellone could come live in Esthar, now that Adel's gone?"

However, before anyone had the chance to answer, Squall stormed out of the room.

"What's his problem?" Laguna asked.

"I don't know…" Quistis said.

"I'll go see," Rinoa said.

She ran after him. Thankfully, he hadn't gone far. He was just down the hall, staring blankly at a potted plant.

"What's going on?" Rinoa asked.

"That man," Squall said softly. "In there, he's my father."

"What?" Rinoa asked. "How is that even possible?"

"I didn't realize it until halfway through his story, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that man is my father. I was raised in an orphanage, okay? Because my mother died shortly after I was born and my father never came home. He was declared some sort of war hero back on Radiant Garden, too, and he was figured missing in action and most likely dead. But instead, he's off chasing his adopted kid and trying to rescue this World."

Rinoa licked her lips. "I'm not sure that's enough to go off on…"

"No, it's not. But the woman he married, Raine? That's my mother. Aerith told me that her mother trained under a woman named Raine to be the town healer. Aerith said how her mother felt so bad that she couldn't help her mentor survive childbirth. But that's what happened. There are too many coincidences for him _not _to be my father."

Rinoa thought that over and realized that Squall was right. It all added up.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Don't be." Squall replied.

She sighed. "I think you should tell him. I don't think you should get super angry at him, because it's not his fault I don't think. There has to be some part of this that we're missing. But I think you should talk to him at least."

"What good is that going to do?"

"I don't know. But I think it'll make you feel better. Trust me on this."

"Fine," Squall said.

"I'll go get him for you," Rinoa said, nodding her head. "Maybe it'll help if you're not in that cramped room."

He shrugged. Rinoa sighed. She walked back into the president's office, hoping she was right about this.

"I think you should come out here," she said, looking right at Laguna.


	25. Stand and Fight

**Author's Note: **I swear I'm not dead yet! School is just literally trying to kill me!

* * *

_Banora Underground: Zack, Age 17_

"It feels almost weird to be so close to home and not actually go home," Zack mused.

"We were at Midgar once," Angeal pointed out.

"Yeah, but Midgar feels nothing like Gongaga."

"And Banora does?" Angeal asked.

Zack shrugged.

"I know that this is where Genesis has taken solace," Angeal said. "And we need to take care of him now before he becomes even crazier and tries to attack us when we're not prepared."

"Oh, come on, Angeal, we're always prepared for a fight!"

"Zack, would you want Genesis to find you when you're with Aerith?"

Zack paled. "Oh. Right. It's gotten to that point?"

Angeal nodded.

Zack and Angeal had discussed many a time what to do about Genesis. Somewhere along the lines, it moved from 'talking sense into him' to 'kill him before he kills us'. As unfortunate as that was, there was no avoiding it. Genesis' degradation had gone so far as to make Genesis more crazed than ever. He wanted to live and would kill anyone in his way—and Zack. Because Zack was still supposedly the key.

Angeal's degradation wasn't as bad at least. He knew he was still degrading, but not at as fast of a rate as Genesis. That was something Zack and Angeal didn't talk about very much. Zack and Aerith both had tried to get information out of Angeal and how to fix his degradation in less crazy ways than what Genesis was trying. However, Angeal liked to keep his own degradation quiet and private. Zack learned not to ask.

Zack did feel a bit uneasy about going after Genesis when Genesis was in solace, it felt like they were stooping to his level. But Angeal was right, what if Genesis came after them when there were innocents around? Zack told himself that this way, no one was going to get hurt.

They approached a set of very large double doors. Genesis pushed against them and they opened with little effort.

"You coming?" he asked.

Zack shrugged. "Yeah."

So the two of them walked in.

To no one's surprise, Genesis was quoting poetry.

"…My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey, in my own salvation…"

Zack did a double-take. It had been a while since he'd last seen Genesis. But the man's ordinary reddish-brown hair had faded to a ghastly white. Genesis' whole demeanor was paler.

"LOVELESS, again?" Angeal asked with a smirk.

"Ah, the one who holds the key gene…" Genesis lamented.

"You're crazy!" Zack said. Though, he didn't think this would have any affect. He was fairly certain even Genesis knew he was crazy.

"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end… the goddess descends from the sky… wings of light and dark spread afar… she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting…"

"I don't understand why you're doing this," Zack said.

"We will all join the Lifestream," Genesis continued. "You are no exception."

"Genesis," Angeal said. "I will give you one last chance. It doesn't have to be this way. Don't give into the degradation."

But Genesis only lifted his sword and flew at them. Zack made to block, but Genesis went after Angeal instead. He did not attack him with his sword, but with a small syringe. Angeal grunted and Genesis started cackling.

"What…" Zack began.

"They forced those upon me," Genesis spat. "The genes to make my degradation faster."

Angeal crumpled to the ground.

"It makes you weak," Genesis said. "But they didn't expect me to overcome it and become stronger!"

Genesis raised his sword again and turned to Zack.

"Oh, hey now…" Zack said. He looked around Genesis to see if Angeal was alright. Angeal sat there, clutching his arm where Genesis had got him. He had a look of horror and disbelief on his face. Zack figured it would probably be best to deal with Genesis and then look after Angeal after.

Zack cast a Barrier on himself, grateful that Aerith had shown him how to do that. Then, for the heck of it, he cast Regen as well. Better that now than several Cures later. Genesis came after Zack, sword raised and ready. Zack only just managed to block it. They held there for several seconds, neither of them backing down. Then, Zack pulled his sword away and back-rolled out of Genesis' range. He cast Gravity in the hopes that it would do a lot of damage. He cast a Fire as well, then went right back to Genesis with his sword.

Genesis seemed only mildly bothered by the Fire, though Zack could assume the Gravity had done a lot more damage and Genesis was just too crazed to show it. Once Genesis had patted the fire away, he attacked Zack again with his sword. Zack and Genesis fought like that for a bit. Zack tried not to worry that his sword was much smaller and weaker than Genesis'. Genesis' blade was custom-made, for he'd bragged about it before. And Genesis took upkeep on it very seriously.

Zack's blade, however, was just a standard one that he'd bought not too long after leaving home. It showed wear and tear, though he'd gotten some upkeep done on it while visiting Traverse Town once. Still, though. Zack worried that his blade might be the reason why he failed this fight with Genesis.

So, more magic!

He was about to cast another Fire, when Genesis cast something dark and nasty. Apparently, Genesis had the same idea Zack had. Zack dodged out of the way of the curling black magic and aimed his Fire again. It hardly seemed to do any damage. The two returned to sword parries. Somehow, in the middle of all that, Genesis managed to get in a Thundaga, but not just any Thundaga, a _dark _Thundaga. Zack gritted his teeth at the pain. He also wished he knew how to be able to cast magic and wield a sword simultaneously.

Genesis tried to take advantage of Zack's guard being down, but Zack was able to roll out of the way. He was proud of himself that he managed to cast a Fire while he was doing that, but he missed Genesis.

Oh, how was he going to survive this if he didn't get his act in gear? What would Aerith think? He'd only barely told her that he was going off to fight Genesis, but he'd played it off as if it were going to be nothing.

Genesis cast another Dark Thundaga and then a Firaga right after another. Zack dodged the Dark Thundaga, thankfully, but the Firaga got him. Zack patted down the flames and was grateful the Regen spell he'd cast earlier was still in effect.

He had to survive. Aerith was waiting for him.

Zack thoughts of Aerith gave him strength. He launched himself at Genesis, sword bared. He had to take care of Genesis now, or risk Genesis coming after Aerith. He just kept telling himself that.

He managed to get through Genesis' guard. He landed several good slashes and then backed off. He followed that up with both a Blizzard and a Fire. Then he made sure the Regen on himself was still good.

Genesis started quoting LOVELESS again. Zack noticed it was the same lines he had quoted earlier. Genesis launched himself at Zack, but Zack ducked out of the way.

"Stand and fight, Zack!" Genesis growled.

Zack raised his sword. "That's what I've been doing!"

Genesis glared. Zack recast his Barrier as Genesis slashed at him again. The two of them proceeded to throw several Blizzards and Fires back and forth at each other. Genesis managing to do so while still wielding his sword. Zack regretted each time he had to pause and block while he cast a spell.

Then Genesis leapt up into the air and cast a huge bunch of Thundaga and Firaga. Zack growled and tried to dodge as much of it as he could. As soon as Genesis was done with that, he landed and sliced right at Zack, who barely had enough time to block.

He blocked, rolled back and leapt back up. He cast Fire, jumped back for a second, then when Genesis was staggered, leapt forward with his sword. He got the most lucky strike in the world and knocked Genesis' blade flying. Genesis fell backwards, gripping his hands where his sword had just been. Zack charged him with his own sword and backed Genesis against a wall.

"No!" Genesis screamed. He lashed out with some sort of ultra-Flare and Zack was knocked backwards. His own sword flew out of his hands and he tried to figure out if he could get to it in any sort of decent time. Ironically, Genesis' sword was closer to Zack. He wanted to go grab it, but Genesis leered over Zack menacingly.

Zack threw a Thunder instead and scrambled to go get Genesis' sword.

It seemed to take forever to get to the sword, but he managed to scramble over to it. He stood up, Genesis' blade in hand and charged Genesis one more time. Genesis fell backwards over a rock. Zack stood over Genesis, blade poised over Genesis' chest.

"I… I can't…" Zack said. "I can't stab a man when he's down."

Genesis laughed and stood back up. Faster than Zack could grasp, Genesis had grabbed his sword back and was pointing it at Zack.

"Right then," Zack said. He rolled out of the way, in the direction of his sword.

He managed to get to his sword and pick it up. He hastily threw it up to block Genesis' sword. He was then surprised to note a third sword in the mix as well. He looked up and locked eyes with Angeal. Angeal smirked.

"Did it not occur to you, my friend," he said, looking at Genesis. "That I may overcome the weakness in the serum?"

Genesis' eyes went wide with shock.

Angeal forced Genesis back and all of a sudden, the three of them were sparring. Though all three of them were weakened in some way, Zack and Angeal were able to overpower Genesis. Zack got him good in the gut and Genesis went flying backwards. He wobbled to his feet, clutching his stomach, but then he slumped over. Zack noticed a look of peace cross his face.

Then, Genesis was bathed in green light and disappeared.

"The Lifestream," Zack said in wonder.

Angeal put an arm around him. "Let's get you to Aerith."

"But…but I'm fine," Zack said. "I had a Regen going for a reason…"

"I don't think it's for your physical health," Angeal said. "But for your mental health."

Zack couldn't really speak. He was in shock now. Had he really just… killed someone?

Angeal grabbed a hold of Zack and took flight. Zack only barely remembered to hold on. Thankfully, Angeal had a tight grip.

xx

"What happened?" Aerith declared as Zack and Angeal stood at the doorstep. Zack was still mostly out of it, but he was able to focus on Aerith.

"We got Genesis," Angeal answered.

"Got…" Aerith began. "As in…"

Angeal nodded.

"Come in," Aerith said. "Sit down! I'll make tea. Cid! Where's the teapot?"

"In the sink!" came Cid's shout from another room.

"Oh, how are you guys?" Aerith continued. "Do you need a potion or something?"

"Zack's a little shocked," Angeal said. "This was his first real kill. Not just some monster or a Heartless. But a person."

"And how are you?" Aerith asked, her voice almost shriek-like. "You said he was your friend!"

"My friend was not the man we killed today. My friend would have never prompted us to do that. He was gone long ago."

Just then, Zack remembered something. "The serum!" he shouted. "Angeal! Your degradation!"

Angeal held up a hand to quiet Zack.

"I am quite all right."

"For now! But you'll start degrading faster! There has to be a way to stop it…"

"We can go to Shinra and look around," Angeal said. "But I fear that my end might be coming faster than I had originally thought."

"That's nonsense!" Aerith said, stamping her foot.

"See?!" Zack said.

"We will do what we can," Angeal said. "But we all knew that I was doomed to degrade from the start."

"It's not fair…" Zack said, his voice catching. "None of this is fair!"

"Life is never fair, Zack."

Aerith ran over and put her arms around Zack. Zack hugged her back.

"I hate to ask this of you," he whispered. "But do you know of anything to help Angeal?"

Aerith shook her head. "From what it sounds like, it's his own body attacking him on the inside and wearing down. It's not a sickness that I can banish or Cure."

Zack sobbed.

"I'm not going anywhere just yet," Angeal said. "Perk up."

Aerith cupped her hands under Zack's chin. She leveled his eyes with her. "We'll get through this, okay? And I'll help if I can."

Zack nodded. "That would be good."

Aerith smiled. The teapot whistled.

"Tea will make you feel better," she said.

Zack could only hope she was right.


	26. New Developments

**Author's Note: **Just tryin' to catch up after falling behind with all my homework. That's all :P Review Responses on the blog! (Link in my profile). You might have to scroll a bit, I forgot where I put it...

* * *

_Esthar: Zell, Age 18_

Zell stood idly by as President Loire and Leon sorted everything out. Zell found it both ironic and tragic that the president was Leon's dad. Especially after that whole bit where the president was once in love with Rinoa's mom. It sounded like something out of a book he'd read, probably a comedy.

President Loire seemed super apologetic about the whole thing. Apparently, he'd stopped reading what was probably a very fateful letter regarding his actual wife—Raine, after he'd learned that she'd died. The letter probably told of Leon's existence, but the president hadn't been paying enough attention to read it all the way through. Or something like that.

Leon was unsurprisingly upset about the whole thing. He also wanted really nothing to do with the president, understandably so. The tension between the two men was awkward at best, though Zell figured that such awkward tension was probably normal, considering the circumstances.

Quistis was watching the two men just as closely as Zell was. Her arms were folded over her chest and her lips were pursed in a typical Quistis fashion. At least she wasn't angry, she was just reserved. Rinoa, on the other hand, looked entirely impatient and possibly a bit miffed about the whole thing. Zell couldn't quite figure out why.

"Look, I suppose it just doesn't matter," Leon said. "What's done is done and there's nothing you can do to fix it."

President Loire sighed. "Are you sure?" he asked. "There has to be something I can do to at least _attempt _to remedy this problem. I do feel awful…"

"No."

"Well, now, wait a second," Quistis said. "There might be something."

The president looked over at her.

"You could help us with defeating Ultimecia," Rinoa suggested.

"You want your daughter, Ellone, to be safe, right?" Quistis continued. "The only way that's going to happen is if we rid this World of Ultimecia."

"We haven't quite figured out how to go about doing that," Rinoa said. "And any help would be appreciated."

The two women looked at each other and smiled. Zell smiled as well. They had their moments where they didn't get along and he'd heard Quistis mutter several times about how Rinoa was no better than a child with some of her actions, so it was nice to see the two of them getting along and building on each other's ideas.

"Why yes, I would love to help," President Loire said. "Anything, really. I can use my political influence in Esthar, if that would be any help. But, honestly, anything for Ellone." He turned and looked at Leon. "And Leon."

Leon rolled his eyes.

"We don't know what all we need just yet," Quistis said. "I think our next mode of action should be to head back to Balamb Garden to touch base with Edea, no?"

"I agree with that," Rinoa said. "Any more Sorceress tips she may have, I'll gladly take."

"Then to Balamb Garden we will go!" President Loire said.

"Just so long as we're not walking," Zell piped in. "Or a train. I'm quite over those modes of transportation."

"I'll get us a nice, big car," President Loire said.

"Sweet!" Zell exclaimed.

xx

_Midgar Sector 7: Abel_

Abel was a well-to-do man who worked for the Shinra Electric Power Company. Sure, like any big organization, Shinra had its corruption and pit falls, but as far as the money and the benefits went, Shinra was the best thing. Shinra also had good intents for the planet, as far as Abel knew.

Abel worked hard and kept his nose to the ground, knowing that Shinra didn't like people who talked badly about the company. Abel needed to keep his job for many reasons, the biggest and most recent reason was that his wife, Chloe, was about to give birth to their firstborn. Neither parent knew the sex of their child just yet, but they would know in a matter of days now.

Abel loved Chloe very much. They'd met in school and had gotten married shortly after. It wasn't long before Abel was recruited to work for Shinra. Abel took the job immediately, knowing that Shinra was a way to move past his poor upbringing. Chloe, having grown up with him, knew of his past struggles, but didn't seem to see why he wanted to move up in society so much. That didn't stop her from enjoying new activities like shopping.

Chloe did work sometimes for a local café. She was a very social person, and Abel loved that about her. However, she wasn't going to be working around there for a while, not with a newborn to take care of.

The couple currently lived in Sector 7, though Abel hoped to one day move their whole family to Sector 3, one of the richer sectors. It would be a long process, but Abel hoped for the best. He would put in his time at Shinra and move up in the company as much as he could. He had been putting in overtime, but he was glad that the company would offer him some leave as soon as Chloe had the baby.

"Your wife popped yet?" asked one of his coworkers as they passed in one of the hallways.

Abel laughed nervously. "Nah, not yet."

"Shouldn't be too long now," reasoned one of his female coworkers.

"Probably not, no," Abel agreed.

He went to his desk and noticed that he had a message on his phone.

No! Not yet! Could it be? After just talking about it?

He picked the phone up off the receiver and pressed the number to check his messages.

"Hello, this is Dr. M.," said the voice of a very calm woman. "I'm calling to inform you that your wife has been admitted into our delivery room and that you should join her as soon as possible. The staff will direct you once you are in the building."

Abel looked at the time stamp for the call and noted that it had come in nearly an hour ago! Just before he'd gone on lunch! Oh, had he picked a bad time to do that today.

He gathered up his things and left the building in a rush.

"I have to get to Sector 7!" he shouted. "I'm going to be a father!"

It was a painstakingly slow trip back to the Sector 7 hospital where Chloe was. Thankfully, as soon as he arrived in the building, all the staff were very helpful in directing him to where his wife was. He got in the room just in time for his wife to start pushing.

Only thirty minutes later, Abel and Chloe's first child was born. The doctor held up a wrinkly thing that hardly looked like a child, but Abel was in love.

"It's a boy," the doctor announced.

Abel and Chloe looked at each other, each smiling widely, despite Chloe's tiredness.

"Denzel," Abel said. "We'll call him Denzel."

xx

_Esthar: Quistis, Age 19_

The president, who was now insisting that everyone call him Laguna (thankfully he wasn't asking Leon to call him some variation of "dad"), didn't take very long to pack a bag. It thus was not long before the group was heading out of Esthar. Laguna said there would be a car waiting for them at the edge of town to take them back to Balamb Garden. Quistis went quietly along, trying to think of what it was they were going to do next. Ultimecia was obviously their next target, but how did they plan on getting to her if she existed at the edge of time?  
"Rinoa?"

The tone of Zell's voice brought Quistis out of her thoughts real quick. Something was wrong. She turned around and saw Rinoa staring blankly at Zell, a spell beginning at her fingertips.

Leon noticed this at the same time Quistis did. He got in between Rinoa and Zell. Rinoa raised her hand to aim the spell at Leon and he batted it out of the way. A blast of Fira went out into the street.

"Rinoa!" Leon shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders. He looked her right in the eye, but she stared blankly through him. She started another spell, it looked like Poison this time.

"Rinoa!" Leon shouted again. "Listen to me! This isn't you!"

"Let go of me," Rinoa said. Except, the voice didn't sound like Rinoa. It was lower, huskier, angrier. "This World will burn!"

"Adel!" Laguna spat.

"No!" Leon growled. "You will not have her! Let her go! Rinoa! Can you hear me?"

With each passing word, Leon grew more and more frantic.

Rinoa, or rather Adel, cast the Poison on Leon.

"Silence!" Quistis shouted, aiming the spell at Rinoa. That would stop her for the moment. She wouldn't be able to cast at least.

"Your spell will not last forever!" Adel spat.

"We need to get out of here quick," Laguna said. "The citizens of Esthar do not take kindly to…"

Quistis prepped a Sleep spell. They could get her out of Esthar and figure out what to do with Adel's consciousness later. Quistis had enough Sleeps stocked up…

Before she got the chance to cast it though, four Esthar city officials showed up.

"She is a Sorceress," one said.

"She must be taken into custody," added another.

"No! You don't understand!" Leon pleaded with them.

Two of them grabbed Rinoa and she began to kick and scream. A third produced a tranquilizer and shot it into her throat. She collapsed in their arms immediately.

"To the containment facility," one said.

"Men, you do not understand the situation," Laguna said.

"I question if you understand the situation," replied a female official.

"Stop!" Leon said. However, his words got caught up in a spew of coughing.

"Esuna!" Quistis said, casting the spell on Leon. He stood up straighter and looked like he was going to go after the officials. However, a car showed up at that exact moment and they loaded Rinoa in and piled in themselves faster than anyone could stop them.

"We have to get her back!" Leon said.

"Not right now, we can't," Laguna said. "There's too much at stake."

xx

_Betwixt and Between: Lea, Age Unknown_

"Don't you think we've been travelling long enough, hey, Isa?" Lea asked.

"We have to find where they've gone," Isa said. "And once we find them and infiltrate their ranks, we can overthrow them."

Lea scratched the back of his neck. "Are you sure that's really necessary anymore? Is it even possible?"

"Stick to the plan, Lea!" Isa hissed.

"Sheesh! All right, all right."

A door made of black, the same type of door that Lea and Isa had discovered they could use, opened up in front of them.

"Well lookey here! I found them!"

"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere…" Lea started, trying to get a good look at the man. It was hard, he was wearing a black cloak that covered him from head to toe. But maybe if he would just take the hood down…

As if he had read Lea's mind, the man removed his hood.

"Braig!" Lea said, getting a good look at the man's face. He sure _looked _like Braig, one of the Radiant Garden Castle Guards. Braig's face was very unmistakable, given how he had scar on one cheek and an eye patch on the opposite eye.

"'Fraid not," the man said. "Braig's long gone. My name's Xigbar. The Superior's been looking for you two. Come with me."

He stepped back through that black door and Isa followed him without a second thought. Lea wrinkled his nose, wondering what they were getting themselves into.

They came out on the other side of the black door in a very bright, white room. They were standing on some sort of dais, but all the chairs—more like thrones, actually—that circled around the center dais were very high up. Lea spun around in a circle, trying to count them all.

"I found them," the man, Xigbar said. He sounded oddly pleased with himself. Or perhaps he just sounded amused.

In the tallest throne, sat a similarly cloaked man. His hood was already down. Lea thought he recognized the man, but he couldn't be sure. All he did know was that the man had very white hair and golden eyes.

"I can give you purpose," he said. His voice was smooth and authoritative. Lea felt the need to stop fidgeting, though he was still trying to count all the thrones.

"I can give you identity," he said.

Lea was a bit apprehensive about this. But he knew beyond all doubt that this was exactly what Isa wanted. This was the elite Organization that Isa wished to destroy from the inside out. Lea would have to go along with it.

"Your new name, shall be Saix," the man said, looking at Isa.

Isa nodded his head.

"Welcome to our ranks, Number VII Saix."

The man looked right at Lea and Lea did his best to look him in the eye, though all he wanted to do was look away. It was as if he were trying to read Lea's thoughts, which Lea sincerely hoped was not possible. If the man could, it would certainly mess up all of Isa's plans. It honestly felt like he could look into Lea's very soul—if he still had a soul after that fateful night in Radiant Garden. Lea held his ground.

"Welcome to our ranks, Number VIII," the man said. "Your new name shall be Axel."


	27. A Collection of Letters

**Author's Note: **So, this is a completely different type of chapter. I'm trying something out. I rather like the idea, so expect to see more of these in the future.

* * *

_To Balamb Garden_

_FWD: to Squall (Leon) Leonhart_

_From Aerith Gainsborough_

_Traverse Town_

_._

_Leon,_

_ I hope this finds you well, just like I hope all of my letters do. Please be careful fighting that Sorceress! Though I'm sure by the time you see this letter she'll likely already be gone. Are you sure the girl you're travelling with, Rinoa, knows what she's doing when it comes to taking her powers? I've never heard of this before, but obviously, it is something that can happen, since Rinoa's already received Edea's powers. Regardless, I'm sending good thoughts her way. I wish you all the very best with your endeavors there. _

_ I'm sure this is all just unnecessary worry, if I really think about it. You all be careful though, you hear me! I want to see you all come home safe!_

_ Things here haven't changed much. We celebrated Yuffie's ninth birthday. She had a couple of boys over from school. We actually spent a good portion of the afternoon in the courtyard outside watching them play ball. Cid got into it! Oh, you should have seen him. It was really quite entertaining._

_ Zack's been in and out. I really enjoy it when he's here. He took me off-world to the most beautiful beach! There was a castle too! It reminded me of home. Have you seen any beaches on your travels? I hope you take the time to rest and relax sometimes. Anyway, Zack actually just left. Though, I'm worried about him. He said he might face Genesis for the final time. I hope he knows what he's doing. I'm sure he'll be fine, especially with Angeal looking after him, but I can't help but worry…_

_ Oh, there I go, worrying again. I'm sure that's the last thing you want to read in a letter from me, so I'll stop. _

_ I've been improving my light magic spells. I think it's been going very well. If your friend Rinoa wants any tips with managing light magic, I might be able to help. Though, if she can cast both light and dark magic well already with her powers, perhaps she doesn't need my help, but I will offer it anyway. I would like to get to know her someday. Actually, I'd like to get to know all your new friends: Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell. Honestly, I'd like to even meet Edea. It certainly wasn't her fault that she was possessed and she sounds like a very helpful woman. _

_ Perhaps I shouldn't make you an owl, so I won't._

_ I'm looking for a book of dark magic for myself. Not to learn, just to understand. I feel that perhaps I might be able to heal things better if I have a more complete idea of what caused them in the first place. Oh, I've told you that already, haven't you? I'm sure I have. Whoops! Regardless, I'm still looking for the book. Neither the library nor the stores in Traverse Town seem to own such a book. Sad day. _

_ Well, at the risk of repeating myself further, which I will undoubtedly do if I keep writing, I shall sign and send this letter off. I hope it reaches you well._

_ Good thoughts to you and your friends,_

_ Aerith_

_P.S. Yuffie wants me to tell you that she says hi!_

_xx_

To Traverse Town Hotel

ATTN Aerith Gainsborough

From Squall Leonhart

Balamb Garden

.

Aerith,

I'm sorry if this letter is distracted sounding. I have a lot on my mind right now and I'm honestly just trying to distract myself. Also, because I know Cid never reads mail, can you relay some of this onto him? It will be clear what it is that you have to relay, trust me.

Adel's physical body is gone. Which, if you think about it, seems like success, right? But it's not. Rinoa absorbed Adel's powers, just as planned, but then before we got a chance to even go see how we were going to deal with Ultimecia, Adel's consciousness took root inside Rinoa. Basically, Rinoa got possessed. She didn't harm anyone, not really. I mean, sure, she tried to poison me, but Quistis took care of that before it got bad. Just… I don't even know.

That's not even the worst part. While I was trying to talk some sense into her, get her back, anything… the Esthar police (I guess that's what they were… I'm not really sure) took her away because she's a Sorceress. I mean, I knew that being a Sorceress was a big stigma on this world… but they took her away! They put her in the exact same containment facility that Adel was just in.

I'm conflicted. I want to go get her and get Rinoa back, because I know she's still in there somewhere. (I've been listening to you too much.) But everyone's telling me there's too much at stake. I'm not really sure what any of them mean by that, considering I don't see what the stakes are. The only person who's making any sense is Edea. She says if we're not careful, Adel could take Rinoa over entirely and everything that we've worked for is a loss. And since Quistis backs her up on that, I guess I believe her.

On top of all that… I found my dad. That legendary mercenary that Rinoa's been talking about… he turns out to be my dad. I don't even know what to think of him. To be honest, I haven't thought about it much. It doesn't really matter. It's not like he was around for the first eighteen years of my life. What does it matter if he's around now?

What's funny is how I figured it out… you know how you were the one who told me that your mother trained under my mother as Radiant Garden's herbalist? And the only thing you knew about my mother was that her name was Raine? Because you'd never actually met her because she died before you were born? Yeah. Laguna, my father, married Raine. But when Raine's daughter got kidnapped (by none other than Adel… small world) Laguna went after her. By the time he rescued her, he got a letter from someone saying that my mother was dead. The letter said more things (probably something along the lines of my existence, oh, I don't know…) but my dumb dad never read the whole thing. I'd like to know what it says…

This is just a hunch. I think Cid wrote that letter. He's always talking about my dad like he's some sort of war hero, which I suppose he was. Anyway, if nothing else, he knew my dad. I want to know exactly what happened. And, if Cid knows, what was in that letter, if nothing else for my own distraction while I try not to think about needing to go rescue Rinoa.

Something is wrong with my brain.

Write back soon, I'm bored (I'll be at Balamb still probably)

Leon

**xx**

**To Balamb Garden**

**ATTN Squall Leonhart (FWD if necessary)**

**From Cid Highwind**

**Traverse Town**

**.**

**Leon,**

** Well, hey, waddya know? You got me to write you, kid! Not that yer a kid anymore. When did you go and get to be an adult? Yer gonna come home a different person! Given you come home. You'd better come home! Anyway, Aerith's been pesterin me to write you for ages and I suppose nows the time to do it. Coulda done it sooner I guess, but better now than never?**

** I dunno. I'll stop tryin to make excuses 'cause you don't actually want those. **

** So yeah, I knew yer father. You knew that. I was tryin to help yer father how to get back home, that world yer on now, actually. He and I worked closely on it. I was just a teenager, if I really think about it. Anyway. Before we could really get anywhere, he got injured by some really nasty monsters. It was the worst outbreak of monsters Radiant Garden had seen at the time. Before the Heartless, before those Unversed. Just nasty monsters. Long story short, he got injured and wasn't fit to travel, no supprise. **

** The town healer at the time, Raine, took him under her wing and nursed him back to health. Aerith probably told you that her mother trained under Raine? Anyway, as much as Aerith's mom wanted to help, Raine said she'd take care of Laguna so long as Elmyra took care of everyone else. Elmyra had just gotten married, (not that you care, but I already wrote it, so it's stayin), and did everything else while Raine took care of Laguna.**

** Somewhere in there, the two of them got all twitterpated and he decided that he didn't want to leave after all, he'd rather stay with Raine. I somehow landed myself best man at their wedding. Don't know how that happened. Anyway, Laguna adopted Raine's little girl, Ellone. Sweet little thing. Odd one, now that I think about it, but sweet. Everyone liked her. Then Ellone got kidnapped and Laguna left to go find and rescue her. **

** What Laguna didn't know, was that Raine was pregnant. Raine didn't even know herself when he left, otherwise I'm sure she'd've told him herself. She was that type of person. **

** I kept tellin her to write him again and again (a lot like Aerith's been telling me to write you, now that I think about it…) but she never did. Then, one day, it was too late. **

** I didn't want to tell you this when you were younger, because I thought you wouldn't understand. I realize now I shoulda told you before you left, because it woulda saved you some headaches. **

** Yer mom died in childbirth. You knew that. But when she died, I wrote yer dad a letter, tellin him about Raine but also about you. I told him that he should come home as soon as he could. I asked what I should do with you in the meantime. **

** 'Cept he never wrote back. I guess now I know why. He was always a bit emotional. And, I feel bad for putting you in that home, but I couldn't take care of you myself. You know that. I'm managing now, but we're both older now. I'm sorry yer dad's a disappointment. Can't fix that now.**

** Cid**

_xx_

_To Balamb Garden_

_ATTN Squall (Leon) Leonhart (FWD if necessary)_

_From Aerith Gainsborough_

_Traverse Town_

_._

_Leon,_

_ I would have written sooner, but I was too busy pestering Cid to write. Also, a lot of things came up. If nothing else, I hope this letter serves as enough of a distraction for you so that you don't do anything stupid. I'm serious, Leon, don't do anything stupid!_

_ I know, I know, you want to go after Rinoa. But, if there's risks in it that could cost Rinoa's life, is it really worth it? I'm not there, I can't see the situation, but it sounds like Adel's possession of Rinoa is serious business. Make sure you know what you're up against before you go dealing with it. This isn't like those other Sorceresses you were telling me about, where you just have to get rid of them. This isn't someone you want to get rid of! This is someone that you care about! And, dare I say it, I think you like her!_

_ There, now that that's out of the way. _

_ At first, I wanted to congratulate you on finally seeing your father, but then I realized that you two obviously don't see eye-to-eye. For that, I am sorry. I always wish the best of and for people and you and your father don't appear to be getting along. Part of me wants to tell you to try and work it out, but I know that with everything else going on in your life right now, perhaps it might be best if you just try and stay out of his way. It might be better for your sanity, I would think._

_ Oh, Leon! I need your advice with something… Zack and Angeal just got back. I don't really know what to do. Zack's not doing so well. He wasn't particularly injured fighting Genesis, not more than what I could handle. But I don't know what to do about the fact that he's killed a man! _

_ I don't judge him for it, so don't you __dare__ think that that's what I'm getting at. But, I don't know how to help him cope! He keeps talking about how it was for the best and how Genesis was a bad man. Even Angeal says that it was for the best, despite him and Genesis once being friends. Genesis went crazy! And Zack says he did it to protect me, because Genesis would stop at nothing to get to Zack… but… How do people get to be that crazy and awful? _

_ I don't know how to comfort him. I mean, I'm doing my best, but I'm out of my league here! And Cid's no help, you know that. You're the only other person I can think of to ask for advice. I want to help Zack but I don't know how… he's not taking this well. _

_ Also, I'm going to go with Zack and Angeal to their home world for a bit. The same thing that drove Genesis crazy might just drive Angeal crazy. I have to see if I can figure out how to stop the degradation. Or at least try to, anyway. If Angeal goes crazy, I don't even know what might happen to Zack. I'm worried. _

_ I understand how you feel about Rinoa, now, I think. Before, my worries were little, compared to this. I wish you were here because I'm going away for a bit, but I wouldn't want you to come back when you've got so much on your plate already. Cid should be able to take care of both Yuffie and the Heartless while I'm gone, don't you think?_

_ Aerith_


	28. The World is a Scary Place

**Author's Note: **Taking a break from the homework to post this, enjoy!

* * *

_Midgar: Aerith, Age 16_

"It says here that Angeal has fully mastered Jenova's shape-shifting ability and his body will not degrade," Aerith said, looking over some research notes. "But what I don't get, is that I can still feel the degradation in his cells. If his body doesn't degrade, why do I still feel it?"

"Because the degradation is still there," Angeal said.

Zack groaned. "And we still haven't been able to find a way to stop it."

Angeal and Aerith both sighed.

"We've only been looking for one afternoon," Aerith said.

"But if we don't have to find it, we'll have to come back another day, there's no way Hollander's going to be out of his office forever."

"Which is why we must be swift and careful," Angeal said.

"What are the other symptoms of degradation?" Aerith asked, moving on to look at other things. "If I know what those are, maybe I can come up with something to deal with the symptoms at the very least."

"I appreciate that," Angeal said, bowing his head. "But I'm not sure if there's anything you can do. The other symptoms are primarily a loss of self-control. Genesis behaved the way he did because he had no control over his anger. He gave into that emotion, and made no effort to rein it in. He might not have had a choice." Angeal shook his head. "I cannot be sure."

"Oh that's awful," Aerith said. But it wasn't in response to Angeal's words, rather something else that had caught her eye.

"What is it?" Zack asked, his voice strained.

"The serum that they were giving Genesis, what it does on the cellular level is just awful!" Aerith replied. "They were purposefully trying to get him to degrade faster because his DNA was unstable and they figured that while he was degrading, they'd at least have a good war machine to work with. That's just… that's cellular manipulation and it's awful!"

"And they didn't expect Genesis to get out of their control," Angeal said.

"That's what it looks like," Aerith said. She put the research notes down and looked over at Angeal. "That's the serum Genesis pumped into you, isn't it?"

Angeal nodded gravely.

Aerith swallowed. "There is no reversing it."

"I had figured on that," Angeal said.

"No," Zack said. "There's gotta be something…"

"No, Zack. I am just doomed to be a monster."

"Angeal!" Zack shouted. "How many times have I told you that you are _not _a monster! You are one of the best men I know!"

"Zack's right, Angeal," Aerith added. "Monsters and people are two very different things and you are _not _a monster. And I know people can be monsters, but you're not one of them either. Monsters are the people Leon's out fighting to make the Worlds better. You're not trying to destroy anything or…"

Angeal laughed. "I appreciate your kind words, Aerith. But I will not always be as calm as I am now. If what we are reading is true, then I will soon have no choice but to act in vengeful ways and I will have no control over it."

"Angeal," Zack said, standing up straight. "As your friend, I am going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen to you! It's the least I can do!"

Angeal smiled. Aerith did too.

xx

_Balamb Garden: Leon, Age 19_

Leon read through the letters that Cid and Aerith had sent him. He didn't feel any better about his father than he had two weeks ago. Cid was more of a father than anything else, if Leon really thought about it. He wanted to write a letter to say he was coming home, but he couldn't do that to Rinoa and leave her in that containment facility. He ignored the part where Aerith said he might like Rinoa. He also ignored the part where Aerith warned him not to do anything rash.

He needed to respond to Aerith in order to comfort her about what Zack was going through. Not that Leon figured he'd be very much help. The only person he had killed was Adel, and he hardly felt the sting of that at all. Probably because Adel's consciousness was still around. Possessing Rinoa. Causing him problems. All of that. He did feel bad for Zack and hoped the poor kid would feel better. Leon could only imagine. He also hoped that Aerith kept herself safe. Not that he had room to talk. But Aerith should try and stay safe nonetheless.

He thought about starting a letter, but couldn't think of the words to say. He sighed and decided he might as go wander around a bit. Maybe he could get Quistis to let him in the training yards and he could just go mindlessly slash at some monsters to get his mind off things.

That's where he ran into Edea. He wasn't all that surprised, Edea walked around Balamb Garden like she practically owned the place. Not in the pompous know-it-all way that Zell did sometimes, but in the knowledgeable about every nook and cranny kind of way. Leon supposed it was a function of being married to the headmaster.

"Have you figured out a way to rescue her yet?" Edea asked.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, skeptical.

"Rinoa," Edea said simply. "I'm assuming you're going to go after her."

"Uh, well, I want to," Leon replied.

"Have you figured out how you're going to do that yet?"

"Well, getting to her isn't the problem. It's the same process as Adel, probably. Though, I won't be able to use the tourist excuse, but I'll think of something. Honestly, none of it matters if me going and rescuing her causes Adel's consciousness to take over. It will all be for waste."

Edea sighed. "Remember what I told you about Sorceress Knights?"

"Yes," Leon said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. That would be disrespectful to Edea.

"You have agreed to be her Knight," Edea said. "And Rinoa knows that. If you go to where she is, I believe you can get through to Rinoa and help her overcome Adel from the inside."

"I tried that," Leon said flatly.

Edea gave a wry smile. "From what it sounds like, you didn't have time to get through Adel to Rinoa. The Esthar officials weren't very kind with that. Esthar does have reasons to hate the Sorceresses, I understand, but still, what they did was interrupt what could have been a successful attempt for Rinoa's consciousness to win out."

"So I should try again?" Leon said.

"Yes!" Edea said. "Go to her! Try again!"

Leon almost smiled himself. "Okay. I'll go."

"Keep in mind though, Leon," Edea said. "You have to want to bring her back. And you have to believe that you can bring her back. There is no room for doubt in a Sorceress' Knight."

Leon nodded. "I'll remember that. I'll go tomorrow. In fact, no, I'll go this evening. I just need to write a letter home first."

Edea smiled. "That's the spirit."

xx

_Lunatic Pandora: Rinoa, Age 19_

Get out of my head!

_You are the one who invited me in…_

We killed you! Your power had to go to someone for you to die. I was the best option.

_But still, you invited me in._

I don't want you here!

_That doesn't matter now. I am here. And I will use your body instead for my means. I can still take on this world yet._

Newsflash, we're in the same containment facility you were stuck in.

_Yes, but it won't be long before I find the weakness. The containment facility was built for my old body. Your body is younger and smaller. And your wings are functional._

No! Stop it!

_Good luck with that._

Even if I invited you in, I can kick you out! Just you watch me.

_Heheh. Good luck with that._

Argh! Stop! No! I don't want to be flying.

_Too bad. I do._

No!

_Hey! What are you doing?_

Oh, I don't know. Taking control back over my own body.

_You'll injure us both at this rate._

Better us both be injured than you be walking around.

_Stop!_

Now you know how I feel.

xx

_Realm of Darkness: Cloud, Age 15_

At first there was the pressing, never-ending darkness. It had been almost suffocating, but somehow, Cloud hung on.

The next thing he knew, he was falling. He seemed to fall for a very long time, but he hardly had a concept of that anymore.

Now, he was walking. He had been walking for a very long time. Everything was dark, there was no sunlight, no moonlight… nothing. Just darkness.

But it was light enough for him to see. Just barely. He could see the path in front of him. So he walked. He would walk until he found someplace else.

At least, that's what he kept telling himself. He refused to sit down and give up. He was supposed to be out adventuring. Adventurers didn't give up.

There were monsters around, but so long as he didn't draw his sword on them, they didn't attack. He learned that pretty quick. Maybe they were stuck here too and didn't want to be bothered.

Something was worrying him though. He noticed he was beginning to forget things. He spent much of his journey reminding himself of the important things so he couldn't forget: why he was adventuring, who was waiting for him back at home… things like that.

What scared him, though, was he felt like there was something inside him, rearing to get out.

xx

_Destiny Islands: Riku, Age 8_

"Hey! Riku! I didn't know you were on the island!"

Riku turned and saw Sora running up to him, Kairi right behind. Riku smiled.

"I just got here," Riku said, pointing to his boat. "Your dad asked me about school and then I came over here to sit on the Paopu tree."

Sora scrambled up onto the tree as well. Kairi looked at it and frowned.

"Here," Riku said, yanking on Sora's arm. "If the two of us scoot over, you'll be able to just walk up the trunk of the tree."

"Okay!" Kairi said.

So Riku and Sora scooted over so that Kairi could get on the tree.

"How long have you two been out here?" Riku asked.

"Oh, a while," Kairi said. "Sora's dad brought us over here right after we got back from school."

"It stinks that you have to stay at school longer," Sora said, frowning.

Riku shrugged. "It's just one more hour. I can live, I guess."

"Yeah, but you were there a lot longer than just one hour," Sora pointed out. "Or you just didn't come over right after school."

"Oh, I got into a fight," Riku said nonchalantly. "I had to stay after."

"Who'd you get in a fight with?" Sora asked, incredulous.

"Wakka," Riku said.

Sora frowned. "He wasn't teasing you about…" he paused, as if trying not to say something in particular. "Well… you know…"

Riku shook his head. "No, he didn't even mention my dad. He was saying that I was a wimp because I hang out with you two."

"Hey!" Kairi said.

"That's not fair!" Sora added. "I'm no wimp!"

Riku chucked. "Yeah, I know that. So that's why I punched him in the nose. I don't think he'll bring that up again. But yeah, I had detention for that."

"Hey! I just realized something!" Sora exclaimed.

"What?" Kairi asked, looking over at him.

"You came here without a parent!" Sora said. He looked at Riku, wide-eyed.

Riku nodded proudly. "Mom said I could."

"Cool!" Sora said.

"Yeah!" Kairi agreed.

"I wonder when my parents'll start letting me do that…" Sora mused.

"Oh, my parents probably never will," Kairi said, wistfully.

Sora sighed deeply. "Well, it's not like my dad ever really bothers us," he pointed out. "He just sits on the dock and reads."

"Yeah," Kairi mused.

"We should do something," Riku said.

"Like what?" Kairi asked.

"I dunno, play tag, go swimming, something…"

"Let's play tag in the water!" Sora suggested. Kairi nodded enthusiastically.

Riku smiled. "Sure!" He punched Sora on the arm. "Sora's it!"

And with that, Riku launched himself off the tree and started running.


	29. A Collection of Shorter Letters

**Author's Note: **Enjoy!

* * *

**To: Mr. and Mrs. Fair**

**Gongaga**

**From Zack Fair**

**Traverse Town**

**.**

**Dear Dad and Mom,**

** How are you guys? I haven't written in a while. I think I've done something worthy of being a hero, but I don't feel like it. Besides, I'm not even sure if it counts. I killed a bad person, but does it count as hero-worthy if I killed him out of self-defense? It's all really confusing. But don't worry. Angeal and Aerith have been helping me sort things out. **

** I know, now you're probably worrying, but please don't. I'm well and healthy. Trust me. And, even if I don't achieve that rank of war-hero that I've always wanted—what I'm doing now is really great and I'm having fun. I think this is what I want to do. I go around helping people. I'm okay with that.**

** Also, since I haven't given you a place to send letters, you can send letters to the Traverse Town hotel. Just address them to Aerith. She'll hold them for me. I visit her enough.**

**Zack**

**P.S. Aerith's my girlfriend now.**

xx

**_Midgar_**

**_FWD: Cloud Strife_**

**_From Tifa Lockhart _**

**_Nibelheim_**

**_._**

**_Cloud,_**

**_ I keep sending these out, but I'm not even sure if they're getting to you anymore. Probably not. But I think the last time you were on this world, you were here, so I keep hoping that maybe one of these will find you. Maybe._**

**_ Life here is quiet without you. Your mom is doing fine. So am I, before you ask. _**

**_ I seem to say that all every letter, but I feel the need to tell you every time, just in case this is the only letter that reaches you._**

**_ If you do stumble upon one of these letters, please write back so I know you're okay._**

**_I miss you._**

**_Tifa_**

xx

Quistis—

I know there are probably more official ways to do this, but this is the most efficient. I'm going off to rescue Rinoa. Don't follow me. Just in case this goes south, someone has to be able to take on Ultimecia.

Leon

xx

To Traverse Town Hotel

ATTN Aerith Gainsborough

From Squall Leonhart

Balamb Garden

.

Aerith,

I'm going to rescue Rinoa. I'm pretty sure it falls under your definition of 'rash' but I just can't keep sitting here doing nothing. It's not like we've done anything in the way of finding Ultimecia anyway. We've mostly just been sitting on our butts, throwing out hypothetical situations of how we'd even approach the situation, given how we lack a Sorceress of our own and we still have no clue how to even get to Ultimecia. It's driving me nuts. I'm going to go get Rinoa. Then, at the very least, I'm doing something. Don't worry, I told Quistis before I left. Edea knows, too. She gave me some advice. I just have to get through Adel. Rinoa's still in there—I know it!

I don't have any advice for Zack, not really. The only thing I've killed that isn't a monster is Adel's body. And she's not really dead, considering she's possessing Rinoa. So, I hate to not have any advice for something so serious, but I really don't. All I can tell him is to keep going and things should get better.

You keep going too, Aerith. When I do come home eventually, I want you in one piece! I'm glad you care about Zack. I mean, you care about most people, but you and Zack seem to have something really special going on. I'm happy for you.

Anyway, I need to be off. Wish me luck. I guess.

Leon

xx

**_Modeoheim_**

**_FWD: Cloud Strife_**

**_From Tifa Lockhart _**

**_Nibelheim_**

**_._**

**_Cloud,_**

**_ This one's a gander. I don't even know if you're here, but it's worth a shot. Maybe someone knows how to get this to you. I can keep hoping. _**

**_ Your mom and I are fine. Your mom's business is going really well. She asks if I've heard from you, but I told her that she'd hear from you before I did. Oh, I really wish you would write. _**

**_ My job is going well! I really like giving tours. It's a lot of fun. My self-defense lessons are going well too. Zangan's really good. You would have liked him. _**

**_ People ask about you sometimes, they seem to think I know where you are. I wonder why that is. _**

**_ Write back when you can. I'm sure you're out busy adventuring. Good luck!_**

**_Tifa_**

**_xx_**

**To Traverse Town Hotel**

**ATTN: Aerith Gainsborough**

**From Zack Fair**

**Disney Town**

**.**

**Aerith,**

** Remind you to bring you here sometime! It's really awesome. Not sure why Angeal and I are even here, but if I'm completely honest, I think Angeal was just tired of flying. Anyway, the people here are awesome and super accepting. Plus, most of them know of other worlds, so we wouldn't stand out! I like places where I don't stand out.**

** How are things back in Traverse Town? I know I haven't been gone all that long, but, you know, I have to ask. Basically, I miss you. **

** I also want to thank you again, for trying to help me figure out how to help Angeal. I didn't think I thanked you properly with Angeal standing right there, since he's being all awkward about it. But, yeah. I really do appreciate it. If you think of anything, just let me know. Your letters always manage to find me. **

** I miss you.**

** Oh! I found a dark magic book! The guy I bought it from probably thought I was bonkers. But I told him it was for my girlfriend who's trying to learn how to combat dark magic. He seemed a little less apprehensive about it after that. I think he thought ****I**** was going to try and use it. Yeah right. I'll stick with elemental magic, thank you very much.**

** Anyway, I miss you. I hope to see you soon!**

**Love,**

**Zack**

xx

_To Balamb Garden_

_ATTN: Squall Leonhart (don't bother fwding)_

_From Aerith Gainsborough_

_Traverse Town_

_._

_Leon,_

_ I wish you luck. I really do. I'm sending you all the good thoughts I can muster. But, by the time you're reading this, you'll be back in Balamb Garden, which means one of two things: you've either failed your mission, or succeeded. I strongly hope it's the latter. Tell Rinoa hi for me, will you?_

_ I will pass on your words of advice to Zack. Thank you. I'm sure he thanks you, too. He's just not here right now. I've actually got a letter from him to respond to, too! I look forward to both letters from you, and from him. I just like letters, honestly._

_ Zack and I do have something special. And I'm very thankful for that._

_ Oh, you'll never believe it. Yuffie said she missed you today. I'm not kidding. _

_ Now, you go and get Rinoa and you be careful! Sending good thoughts, as always._

_Aerith_

_xx_

**_Junon_**

**_FWD: Cloud Strife_**

**_From Tifa Lockhart_**

**_Nibelheim_**

**_._**

**_Cloud,_**

**_ I will send a letter to every darn city on this world if it means you'll get one of them. _**

**_ Your mom and I are doing absolutely lovely. But we both miss you. I'm not even ashamed to say that I missed you, so there!_**

**_ If you get this, write back and let us know you're safe. Well, write your mom. I'm planning on leaving town, soon. I'll leave a paper trail (hopefully) so your mom can keep in contact with me at least. Let her know and she'll pass the news onto me._**

**_ Or I'll find you. Whichever happens first._**

**_ Yes, you read that right. I'm going to follow you. As soon as I have everything in order here. That's the plan, anyway. I suddenly realize why it took you so long to leave. _**

**_Write!_**

**_Tifa_**

xx

_To Disney Town_

_ATTN: Zack Fair (FWD if necessary)_

_From Aerith Gainsborough_

_Traverse Town_

_._

_Zack,_

_ I'm so happy you found a book for me! I can't wait to see it! Granted, I can't wait to see you either. Don't forget that. I miss you, too! Silly. Did you think I wouldn't? Visit soon! (And not just for that book! Though I'm really excited about it.) _

_ Next time you come over, you should take me to this 'Disney Town'. I'm sure it's as lovely as you say. _

_Love,_

_Aerith_

xx

To Traverse Town Hotel

ATTN: Aerith Gainsborough

From Angeal Hewley

Prankster's Paradise

.

Aerith,

Forgive my brevity. Enclosed is a letter that you will need to give to Zack. I can't quite say when, but you will know when the time is. You are a wonderful person and you help Zack to be good, too. I am grateful of that. All my thanks, as well as all my apologies—

Angeal


	30. To Rescue Rinoa

**Author's Note: **Do I have anything to say? Not really... sorry... enjoy, though!

* * *

_Lunatic Pandora: Leon, Age 19_

"What do you mean she's no longer here?" Leon growled.

"Sir, if you're going to draw your weapon, we cannot…"

"It's a habit," Leon grumbled. "Why isn't Rinoa here?"

"We had to move the Sorceress! She was becoming destructive."

Leon about rolled his eyes. That piece of information wasn't news. Rinoa had been destructive since they put her in containment in the first place.

"No, no, you don't get it," the man continued. "She actually willingly wanted to go into a stronger containment."

"What?" Leon asked, his voice dead-pan.

"Yes! It was like a moment of clarity! She _wanted _to be moved to the Sorceress Memorial."

"Where's that?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I want to go see it as a tourist attraction," Leon said, sarcastically. "I want to rescue her! There's no point lying to you."

"Oh… uh…" the man started to get very nervous. Leon was almost surprised this hadn't happened before. He felt that he was being rather intimidating. "The Sorceress Memorial is just outside of Esthar. That's where we cryogenically freeze the Sorceress, only for her to be transported back out here… just frozen."

"How do you unfreeze someone if they've been cryogenically frozen?" Leon asked.

"I'm not sure. Adel unfroze herself."

This was a relief to Leon. Adel had not done anything to unfreeze herself. Leon, Rinoa, and Zell had been the ones to do that. Assuming he was too late, and Rinoa was frozen by the time he got to her, he could unfreeze her again. Leon's thoughts started racing around in his head and he tried to focus on the important matters.

He needed to get to the Sorceress Memorial. If he got there before Rinoa was cryogenically frozen, he needed to help Rinoa overcome Adel. If he got there _after _Rinoa was cryogenically frozen, he would need to figure out how to convince one of the two Sorceresses that they needed to be _not _frozen and _then _help Rinoa overcome Adel. The plan was actually really quite simple.

"Do you know if she's been frozen already?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," the man replied. "I heard they were having some difficulty and some hold-ups, but I'm not sure what those were."

Right. The sooner Leon got there, the better. He nodded at the man and turned on his heel. Time to head back down to Esthar and the Sorceress Memorial.

xx

Getting to the Sorceress Memorial wasn't too hard. It was just outside of Esthar. That wasn't surprising to Leon. What _was _surprising, was the fact that the sentries outside the Memorial took one look at Leon, and let him right in. They seemed very happy to let him in in order to 'see his comrade off'. Why didn't _these _people take Rinoa into custody? As opposed to those ridiculous police officials that caused them all nothing but trouble.

Once inside the Memorial, he did get some trouble from the engineers.

"What are you doing here?" one of them said frantically. "This is a restricted area!"

"To do what I should have done earlier," Leon replied.

"What are you talking about?" the engineer said, holding up a hand.

"I'm taking Rinoa with me," Leon said.

"It's too late," the engineer said.

Leon looked past the engineer to the room he assumed was the cryogenics room. Rinoa was standing there, very docile for someone who was possessed. Unless it was Adel that wanted to be frozen. Leon didn't like that thought. But why would Adel want to be refrozen? She'd just gotten free!

"We'll see about that," Leon said. He ran into the room.

A small part of him wondered if they could cryogenically freeze him too, while he was in here, but a closer look showed that Rinoa was in a pod. No wonder she was so docile.

Leon walked up to the pod, ever so carefully.

"Rinoa," he called. "Is that you?"

Rinoa pounded on the glass. Her mouth moved, but he couldn't hear her. Likely, she couldn't hear him either. He tried to get a good look at her to see if it was Rinoa, or Adel. He couldn't tell. Well, that didn't matter now, he needed to get her out of the pod.

"What do I do…" he muttered to himself, looking around. He didn't see any sort of seal or clasp or anything.

Not able to think of anything else, Leon pulled out his gunblade and started hacking away at the pod itself. One of the metal bars snapped apart and Leon realized it was hydraulics holding the pod together. The doors open and Rinoa started to fall out. He held his arms open to catch her. She melded into his arms, almost as if she belonged there. Leon stroked her hair.

Then Rinoa started laughing. But it wasn't a Rinoa laugh. It was most certainly an Adel laugh. Leon stepped back hastily, though his instincts made him put an arm on each of Rinoa's shoulders to steady her, just in case.

Rinoa's eyes flashed red and stayed that way.

"I see you've freed me, boy," Adel said.

I was awful to hear Adel's voice come out of Rinoa's body. Leon grimaced.

"I can stop injuring the body to postpone the freezing," Adel continued.

Leon then noticed a large amount of bruises and scratches on Rinoa's body.

"What have you done?" Leon snarled.

"Only prevented a serious setback. The little brat was trying to freeze me again."

"I'm going to stop you," Leon said, letting go of Rinoa.

"Like your father did?" Adel said. "Because that worked so well."

"You only got freed because we unsealed you."

"And now I am in the most unassuming body," Adel said, practically clucking in enjoyment. "And you've freed me."

"I will stop you," Leon said.

"I'd like to see you try," Adel said. She began to cackle.

All Leon wanted to do was to take his gunblade and attack Adel. But Adel was in Rinoa's body, and he couldn't do that. He was here to save Rinoa.

"Rinoa!" he shouted. "Rinoa, listen to me! Can you hear me?"

"She's too far gone, boy," Adel sneered.

"No!" Leon said. "I refuse to believe that. Rinoa was here when I opened the pod."

"She's not here now," Adel said, in what Leon assumed was supposed to be an innocent-sounding tone of voice. It didn't fool him though. He was even less fooled when Adel started laughing again. Leon's hand went to the hilt of his gunblade, but he couldn't do anything more with that.

"Strike me down," Adel said, gesturing that Leon should go ahead. "Then what? My powers will find someone else, and if I'm good enough, I'll be able to take over some other poor soul and then what will you do? Oh, but it's not like you actually care about anyone else besides _this _little brat. Since she's _really _the reason why you're here."

"Shut up," Leon growled.

He couldn't stand here and argue like this. Every second he wasted talking to Adel, Rinoa could be slipping farther and farther away.

"Rinoa!" he shouted again.

Adel raised an eyebrow.

Against every instinct, Leon reached back out and put his hands on Rinoa's shoulders.

"Rinoa,'" he whispered. "Are you in there?"

Adel responded with a blast of Thundaga to Leon's chest. He fell backwards and only barely managed to stumble to his feet.

"That's not going to work," Adel insisted. "You won't be able to save her like that—provided you can save her at all. Your best bet is to fight me."

"No!" Leon growled. "That only works if darkness is involved. You may be on the side of darkness, but you aren't darkness yourself."

Adel frowned.

"You just want me to fight you," Leon said. "But that's not going to work. I am not stupid enough to listen to you. And you are crazy if you think I am."

Adel started prepping another spell. It looked a lot like the beginnings of Flare. Leon hastily threw up a Barrier. He felt the Flare's heat, but didn't feel any weaker or damage. Wings sprouted out of Rinoa's back. Except they weren't the usual angelic wings that Leon was used to seeing. These ones were grey and ragged. Leon winced.

"Rinoa," he said. "I know you're in there. If you can hear me, know that I am here fighting for you."

"Fighting?" Adel scoffed. "You're just standing there like a fool."

"Silence," Leon said. "Does it count as fighting if I keep you from using magic?"

Adel glared at him. Leon had to hope he never saw Rinoa make that face again.

"Rinoa," he continued. "I would really like to hear your voice right about now."

"The Silence will wear off," Adel said.

"And I'll just cast another," Leon said.

"While you do what?"

"Stand here and talk to Rinoa," Leon said defensively. "I know she's in there."

_You won't be able to save her…_

_ Just like you can't really save anyone…_

_ All of this is just for nothing…_

_ Either you kill her…_

_ Or she kills you…_

_ Either way, you fail…_

_ What good are you?_

"No!" Leon shouted, batting the thoughts away. Where had they come from?

Adel laughed.

"Darkness," Leon growled.

If darkness was involved, he could attack Adel in Rinoa's body and hope that he could bring Rinoa out that way. But it was a long shot. Rinoa's body had already taken some abuse from Adel and Leon couldn't _really _risk damaging her further. Plus, what if it didn't work? If he stood here and kept talking to Adel, the mind games were going to drive him crazy. Adel hadn't spouted off some evil plan, the entire time, she had just been standing there, waiting for Leon's next move.

"Rinoa," Leon tried. One last time. "Rinoa, I promised that I would be your Knight. And when I made that promise, I wasn't really clear on what I was doing. I was trying to protect you from doing something stupid. But now, now I realize that you weren't doing something stupid, you were doing something completely good for your World… and that is so honorable. And I've done nothing to help you. I've failed up until now. But I'm done failing you. I am here to protect you, as I should have done before."

He began to prepare a Holy spell, wishing he knew some of the probably more effective light spells that Aerith had been talking about, like Seal Evil, or something like that. But this would have to do.

"Wait!"

Rinoa's voice!

Leon held off on the spell, for just a moment. Even if it was a trick, there would be nothing Adel could do in the ten seconds' grace he was going to give.

Rinoa's body seized. Leon's eyes went wide. She convulsed. She fell to her knees, her arms gripping her sides, head bowed.

"Rinoa…"

Her head snapped up and her eyes locked onto Leon's. They weren't red. They were frantic, however.

"The Holy, now!" she said.

"I'll hurt you!"

"Just do it!"

Leon released the Holy. It pierced right through Rinoa's body and there was a terrible, screeching scream. Leon fished an Elixir out of his pocket and crossed the few feet distance between the two of them.

Rinoa lay on the ground, not moving. Leon knelt down beside her and picked her up, cradling her in his lap. She groaned and her eyes opened. Still brown.

"She's gone," Rinoa said. "Adel is gone."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be mean or anything, but how do I know this isn't some trick? Like it was when I opened the pod…"

"Squall," Rinoa said, his name got caught in her throat. "I knew you would come and rescue me."

She held up a hand. "Cure," she said. Some of the cuts and bruises began to fade. "Cure!" she said again, with more force. She sat up. "Cure!" she said, one last time. Bright white wings sprouted from her back. Leon breathed a sigh of relief.

He reached out and threw his arms around her, pulling her close once more. The Elixir fell to the floor, but he didn't bother trying to grab it up. Rinoa threw her arms around him. She nuzzled her forehead against his chest, then lifted her head to rest on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Squall."

"I missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you, too, Squall."


	31. Dreams and Pride

**Author's Note: **Oh goodness, this chapter gives me feels, for many reasons. But rather than me sitting here and rambling about them, how about you just read them!

* * *

_Olympus Coliseum: Zack, Age 18_

It had been two weeks since Zack had seen Angeal. Two, whole, flipping weeks. The last time he'd seen him had been in Nibelheim. They'd taken a tour of Mt. Nibel because it was just something you should do before you died. But again, that was two weeks ago. Angeal had left to "take care of business." Zack hadn't thought too much of it, then, knowing that Angeal was degrading much faster than originally planned—no thanks to Genesis.

But what could possibly take two weeks to wrap up? Or take care of? Or whatever?

Zack had spent the first week with Aerith, no real surprise. But then had left to go find Angeal—to no avail. He went to Angeal's hometown, Banora—not too far from Zack's hometown, all things considered. But all he found was an empty house—Angeal's mother having recently passed away.

That left a bitter taste in Zack's mouth. What was going on?

He went to several other Worlds after that, but there was no sign of Angeal.

Zack looked down at his star shard. "Take me to Angeal," he said, squeezing it hard.

He arrived in Olympus Coliseum.

"What am I doing here?" he mused to himself. Not wanting to doubt his star shard, he made for the gates. Maybe Angeal was here. Or at least a clue.

It had been nearly four years since he'd been here last. The place hadn't changed too much from the look of things. Zack pondered for a moment how much he had changed since the last time he'd been here. It felt like he had changed a lot. Angeal and Aerith would do that to a person.

He ran into Phil in the lobby.

"Hey, kiddo!" Phil said. "Long time, no see! C'mere! I got a job for you!"

"Wait," Zack said. "I'm actually just here, wondering if anyone's seen my friend Angeal…"

Phil didn't hear him. He just kept talking. "I need to see if this thing I've got going is good enough for Herc to practice on. It's gettin' harder and harder these days to see if it'll even be a challenge. Yeah… but I think I've got it this time! Now that I've got real contenders in the last two slots. What I need _you _to do, is go through the cup as a test-run. I'll pay ya!"

"No, wait, I'm really here to find someone else…"

Phil didn't listen. He just shuffled Zack right through the lobby and into the Coliseum proper.

"There are eight rounds," Phil said. "You can only take what you have equipped and maybe like… six extra items. Yeah. Six. Capiche?"

Zack rolled his eyes. At this rate, it would be faster to just go along with Phil. He dropped his pack off and started sorting through what he should have equipped. He settled on the materia that added Poison to his attacks, two different barriers, one for magic and one for physical attacks, his Cura, and his Regen. Might as well be on the defensive on the magic side if he had no idea what was going to be coming to him. Then he packed six remedies and hoped his MP didn't get too low.

"Here goes," Zack muttered.

He walked onto the battle platform. He watched the magic barrier go up around him, something he remembered was to keep interference out and the contenders of the battle in. He sighed heavily and pulled his sword off his back.

Three Soldier Heartless and four blue flying Heartless appeared.

"Hey!" Zack called out. "Is this part of the program?"

"Sure thing!" Phil replied.

Zack wondered momentarily how the Heartless were so controlled here, but he didn't have long to ponder on it, considering there _were _a half a dozen heartless in front of him. He ran forward with his sword.

The Soldier Heartless took about three swings with his sword and the blue flying ones only took two, thankfully. It would have been so much easier if they all stood together and he could attack them all at once, but they didn't like to do that. His poison was practically useless since it was faster to kill them all with his sword.

He got rid of them and had a moment's breather before the next round started. This time, there was only one blue, but five yellow ones, two red ones, and two green ones. Zack grimaced. He'd have to attack the green ones first, before they started Curing all of their friends.

So that's what he did. He got one of them with only two swipes of his sword, which was nice. Then he started to go after the other one, but it was being a bugger and was hiding behind it's yellow buddies. He got hit with a Thunder and groaned. He slashed right back at them and managed to kill three of them with one hit. That was nice. He kept attacking, refusing to stop until the green one was gone. Then all that was left was one red. It threw a Fire at him, but he dodged it. Then he killed the Heartless.

Breather. He Cured. The next round of Heartless showed up. He made a mental note to see if Cid knew anything about this. Or maybe Angeal would. If he could find Angeal. This time, there were three large bodies and three greens.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Zack groaned. Nevertheless, he charged forward with his sword. He _needed _to get rid of the greens before he did anything else. He cast a Barrier just to be on the safe side. Large Bodies were nasty. He sliced through the greens in two hits and then went after one of the two Large Bodies. He wished _these _Heartless wouldn't get so close together. They'd squash him if he wasn't careful. He got rid of one, finally, after landing about five hits on its back. He frowned, that took too long and a couple of those hits should have been critical. Then he noticed there was still a green floating around. Grumbling, he ran after it, killed the darn thing, then went after the other Large Body. It took three swipes. Yeah, that was more like it.

The next round was five reds and five yellows. Zack cast a magic Barrier because he just wasn't going to be dealing with the large amount of Thunder and Fire when he needed to be hacking and slashing.

So hack and slash he did. This round wasn't too bad, considering he had the MBarrier.

Then came one Large Body, three greens, one blue, and two yellows.

"This is a hodge-podge," Zack muttered, going after the greens as usual. Once they were gone, he focused on the Large Body, which was significantly easier to get rid of since there was only one of them. Then all that was left was the one blue and two yellows. One dodged Blizzard later, and they were all gone.

"I'm feeling it," Zack said, hopping up and down. If his math was correct, he had three rounds left. Just then, three yellows, three blues, and four little Shadow Heartless popped up. "Easy," Zack scoffed, running forward.

He got rid of three Shadows with one swing and then the fourth with a second. He managed to get two of the blues as well as one yellow in a good combo. He got the last two yellows in another combo, but had to chase down the darn blue one to kill it.

Two more rounds, then he could maybe get some information about Angeal out of Phil.

This time, however, Heartless didn't appear. Rather, a person walked in from the other side of the auditorium. She was probably no older than Zack, though she had an attitude about her that was very much like she felt she knew everything. She had light blonde hair and fierce blue eyes. Zack raised his eyebrows. She pulled out eight throwing knives and laced them between her fingers. She sneered at Zack.

Zack hadn't fought very many women. In fact, he had fought exactly… zero. However, he knew not to underestimate her. He readied his sword.

"This'll be easy," she scoffed.

"That's what you think," Zack said. Even if it meant getting out of the cup early, he wasn't going to give up now.

She dove at him, knives ready. He aimed to block, but she seemed to have been expecting that and she slipped right past his guard. Her knives scratched through his side like cat's claws.

"Yowch!" Zack grunted, spinning around.

"Aw, too slow!" she snickered.

Zack cast Regen, deciding this battle might actually take long enough for it to do something.

"Lightning!" she shouted. Zack was promptly hit with Thundara.

Zack already knew he didn't like fast enemies. And she was just being brutal. He frowned; if he could just get one good slash at her, she'd be Poisoned for the rest of the battle at least. The more he hit her, the more Poisoned she'd get. No more mister nice Zack.

The minute she came close the next time, he didn't even try to guard, he just slashed at her and managed to land two good swipes.

"Hey!" she growled. "Watch it?"

"Uh, I think that's the point," Zack replied.

With a noise that sounded like a cross between a growl of frustration and a screech of pain, she launched herself at Zack again, knives bared. Zack blocked her that time and send her reeling.

"Lightning!"

Zack didn't get the MBarrier up in time. He winced at the aftershock and threw up the MBarrier for the inevitable next attack. She seemed to like Thundara.

"Vanish!" she shouted, tossing her knives at him. Zack spun his sword around in front of him, like a shield of its own. He blocked six out of the eight knives. One scratched him on the arm, the other one got caught in his armor around his stomach. The knives were little, but they were menaces. Much like this girl.

The knives went back to her and Zack wondered what ability she had to get _that _to work, considering it seemed to defy physics. Zack jumped at her, raising his sword above his head. He brought it down. She rolled out of the way. He felt his sword come in contact with something, but he wasn't entirely sure what. He ended up getting smacked in the face with her boot. _That _was painful. More painful than the knives. He took a moment to rub his jaw and make sure his Regen was still active.

She came running at him again. He blocked the knives, but he did get hit with a small bit of the Thundara. Some of the magic got through his MBarrier. Not fair!

She giggled. It was a cocky giggle. She sounded way more thrilled than should be possible.

"This is fun!" she said.

Zack rolled his eyes. Obviously, the two of them had different ideas of what the word "fun" meant.

Zack did notice her sleeve was ripped and there was blood dripping from the wound. He had gotten her, though she didn't appear to be fazed by it. He also could guarantee that she was Poisoned—not deadly Poisoned, just weakening Poisoned—though she didn't appear to be affected by that, either.

She threw her knives at him again. He rolled out of the way—directly into a Thundara. Zack nearly swore.

"Angeal…" he muttered. "Where are you?"

At the thought of his friend, his mind cleared. He didn't feel pain, he didn't feel frustration, rather he felt a rush of energy.

_Prove your honor to me…_

Angeal had always been so big on honor. He and Zack had talked time and time again about how important honor was.

"You got it," Zack said.

He put his sword back on its magnetic holster and ran at the girl, fists bared. This threw her off and he was able to land more than a dozen punches. She staggered back, reeling.

"How… how dare you!" she screeched. "I'm going to break you!"

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that…" Zack said, pulling his sword back out again.

She charged up the biggest lightning-bolt Zack had seen yet. Zack re-cast MBarrier just in time. The lightning danced around the barrier, but never hit Zack himself. The girl growled and launched herself at him again, knives bared. But Zack avoided her and smacked her good on the back with the fuller of his sword. She stumbled to the ground and didn't get up.

Zack knelt down beside her and offered a hand to pick her up.

"Good match," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." She wiped her mouth with the edge of her sleeve. "I hope I get paid good for this."

"Phil pays well," Zack assured her.

"Cure," she said, throwing the spell up for herself. "Good luck with the last match," she continued, snickering.

Zack frowned, wondering who or what was round eight that even _she _was wishing him good luck on. He hadn't even caught her name…

Just as she disappeared from the field, what looked like several gigantic pieces of armor appeared. Before Zack's very eyes, the armor pieced itself together. Through the eye-holes of the helmet, Zack could see glowing yellow eyes. More Heartless. He readied his sword.

The armor clanked towards him and he ran at it, swiping at its feet as he passed under it. He stalled to a halt and turned around as quick as he could. He was faster than it, it would seem. He ran back at it, slashing again at his feet. He figured at some point he should probably jump up and attack its face, but at the moment, attacking the feet seemed to be doing _some _good. He got in a third swipe and had to backpedal out of there fast because the armor fell over and broke into six pieces. Zack ran for the head and started to attack it.

"Hey!" Phil shouted. "No help!"

Zack frowned and looked up. Last he checked, he was the only one in here…

He heard the flapping of wings and turned to the sound. Sure enough, Angeal was lowering himself down to the battlefield. Angeal had his own sword ready.

"Angeal!" Zack exclaimed. "Where have you been?"


	32. Phenomenal Powers

**Author's Note: **Continuation of the FFVIII arc, with Leon rescuing Rinoa, woo! More Zack to follow.

* * *

_En Route to Balamb Garden: Rinoa, Age 19_

Rinoa sat in the front seat of the car, picking at her cuticles. She and Squall'd had no problems getting from the Sorceress Memorial to the car rental place and they were now peacefully back on their way to Balamb. No one had bothered them. It was almost as if they had been afraid of the pair. Rinoa hadn't asked questions.

Squall had been oddly quiet since the Sorceress Memorial. Rinoa had been quiet, too, though, if she really thought about it. She wasn't sure if there was anything to say, really, but her thoughts were all over the place.

She cleared her throat.

"Um, do we have a plan?" she asked quietly. "For Ultimecia?"

"Not currently, no," Squall responded. "Everything we had tossed around never really got very far, considering we have to somehow get _outside _of time." He frowned and sighed heavily. His eyes never left the road ahead of him, however. "And, after a certain point, I stopped paying attention. I was—"

But he stopped his sentence. He licked his lips and swallowed. But he didn't continue.

"You were what?" Rinoa asked.

He sighed again. "I kept getting distracted."

Rinoa cocked her head to one side, curious. However, Squall didn't continue. She pursed her lips and sighed.

"This is probably a dumb question, and certainly tactless," Squall said. "And I try not to be like Zell, but I have to know."

Rinoa smiled a little at the Zell comment. "Go on," she said.

"How do you know Adel's consciousness is gone?"

Rinoa wondered how many times she was going to get asked that question.

"We defeated her," she said, trying to make it sound simple. "Ever since she first started trying to take over, I was fighting it. But back there, in Esthar she got ahold and there was nothing I could do. But they knocked me out, and when I woke back up, I had control again. She kept trying to overpower me, and I kept trying to overpower her, it was a fight for my mind."

Rinoa realized this wasn't simple at all. But she needed Squall to understand that Adel was gone and she was, for the most part, safe.

"At some point, she tried to escape the containment facility, and… that's when I started throwing myself against the walls."

Squall slammed on the breaks. He looked right at her.

"Why would you do something like that?" he asked, incredulous.

"At the time, I was still in control of my body, and I thought that maybe if I did that, Adel would leave. I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking…"

"Clearly," Squall said.

She bit her lip, unsure of what he was thinking. She really wished she knew what he was thinking right about then.

"At some point, I decided that it would be best to just be cryogenically frozen, so that it wouldn't matter anymore. We'd both be frozen. But Adel took over again and started injuring me because they prefer to cryo-freeze Sorceresses in perfect condition, or something like that. Then you came along…"

Rinoa watched Squall think, trying to process everything. She started talking again, the words all coming out in a rush. She had to make him understand.

"And between me on the inside, battling for my mind, and you fighting on the outside, fighting for me… we did it. She's gone. I wish there was a physical way to prove it… but I can't!" Tears started forming in her eyes and Rinoa did her best to keep her face from scrunching all up. But her throat started tightening and she knew that there was no way she was going to keep the sobs at bay…

Before she could really comprehend what was going on, Squall had thrown the car into park and had unbuckled his seatbelt. He climbed over to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Shh," he whispered, rocking back and forth. "Shh, it's okay. I believe you that she's gone. I'm sorry for asking. I knew it was tactless!"

Rinoa shook her head, unable to voice her thoughts.

_It's not your fault! I just wish I could make you understand!_

A sob escaped. Squall held her tighter.

"I should have known," he continued. "The minute you called me 'Squall'. You always do that, even though I can never figure out why, but I'm glad now that you do, because Adel never once called me that."

Rinoa sobbed again. The emotions of the past however long it was since Adel's consciousness had shown up finally hitting her hard. She had been so scared. That sort of stuff only happened in horror stories, it was never supposed to happen to a real person.

Except all horror stories were based in truth.

She focused on the fact that Squall was holding her and he didn't seem to care that there was the potential that she could hurt him. Not that she ever would. He never believed in the stigma against the Sorceresses. He'd agreed to this job because he was going to fight someone bad, not because he was going to fight someone with magic. There was just so much good inside of him, even with what all he was hiding.

Her sobs quieted and she wrapped her arms around him as well. He stroked her hair and she relished at the touch.

At last, he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he said, again.

"Don't be," she said, wiping her eyes. "You had to know. I understand."

He frowned. "I know, but I'm still sorry."

"It's okay," she said. After a moment, she added, "Do you think you could help me explain to the others?"

He nodded. She smiled.

He crawled back to the driver's seat and started the car up again. Rinoa settled herself back into her seat.

"So what's it like?" he asked. "Having all that power?"

Rinoa smiled a little. This was a question she could answer. "Like I could do a full-Cure on all of Balamb Garden and then still have the energy to dance at a military ball for three hours after."

"That's an odd analogy," Squall mused.

Rinoa shrugged. "It's the first thing I came up with."

He chuckled. She laughed, too.

xx

Back at Balamb Garden, Rinoa and Squall were met with a very small group of people and ushered very quickly into a meeting room before anyone could ask any questions. The meeting room was large, but held only the people who had initially met them (Edea and Quistis) with the addition of Headmaster Cid, Zell, and Squall's dad, who was basically just called Laguna by then. Rinoa figured that since even Squall was calling him Laguna, she might do so as well.

"So, I think this means the plan is back on," Headmaster Cid said. "Assuming it is possible for Rinoa to potentially absorb a third Sorceress' powers?"

Everyone looked at Rinoa. Most everyone had looks crossed between curious and worried on their faces. Edea and Quistis both looked incredibly concerned. Squall's face was completely blank, but his eyes expressed more emotions than Rinoa cared to try and parse out. Headmaster Cid, however, looked expectant.

Rinoa swallowed. "Well, um, yes, I suppose I can. I'm sure it's unheard of."

_If nothing else_, she thought. _I can just cryogenically freeze myself then if I'm too dangerous. I have no idea what that much power would do…_

"I can absorb them if need be," Edea said.

"Or I," Quistis added.

Rinoa's eyes went wide.

"Would you?" Rinoa asked.

"Of course, less strain on you, that way," Edea said.

Quistis just nodded.

Rinoa breathed a sigh of relief.

"Right," Headmaster Cid said. "Well, now that that's cleared up…"

"You were going to fight her anyway," Squall said, completely interrupting Headmaster Cid. "You don't mean to tell me that you didn't make any plans at all in the event that me going and getting Rinoa _didn't _work?"

"Forgive my husband for being a little out of order," Edea said, putting up a hand to stop any sort of fighting that may have broken out. "We did make plans for if that didn't work. The plan was actually for me or Quistis to absorb the powers anyway. Probably me, since I've already grown accustomed to such power, but Quistis was very insistent in volunteering as well."

Quistis looked down at the table, her face flushing red.

"However, believe me when I say that I had full confidence in you, Leon."

Squall nodded his head.

"Regardless, I think Cid was just figuring that having once Sorceress might be easiest, or the powers might be more likely to go to her because Rinoa's already a Sorceress. Regardless, there are three eligible people in this room to take on that power when the moment comes.

"To backtrack further, we also discussed how we were going to _get _to Ultimecia, since that's really what's been setting us back all along. It would not matter how we planned to defeat her if we could not get to her in the first place. But I think we've come up with the idea."

Edea turned and looked at none other than Laguna.

"Ellone." Laguna stated the name simply. He smiled a bit. "See, she's got this power to send people's consciousnesses back in time."

"Isn't the end of time forward?" Squall asked. "I mean, I could be wrong…"

"We're hoping that perhaps her power can extend in the other direction."

"Seems like a bit of a longshot," Rinoa said.

"If that does turn out to be the case," Edea said. "We did have another plan, but it does require you, Rinoa."

Rinoa frowned. Of course it did.

"See, Ultimecia exists at the end of time, but she wants to create chaos for _all _of time, creating a realm that only she could live in. That's what she possessed me to do. The sheer power and drive of it all, it's a wonder you were able to knock that all out of me…" Edea shook her head, surprise showing on her face, even after all the time that had passed. "Regardless, Ultimecia's probably still at it. And I figured out how she can best do that. After her failure to me, she's no doubt figured out that she needs to possess multiple Sorceresses at once. The only way she can do that is with Ellone's help."

"What does that have to do with me?" Rinoa asked.

"You're the only Sorceress left in this time," Edea said. "It occurred to me after you defeated Adel." She sighed. "We've known this entire time that Rinoa's been a potential vessel for Ultimecia, but now Rinoa is optimal for Ultimecia's plan to work."

Rinoa felt panic rise up inside of her. "How do I know I haven't already been possessed? What if she's already done something? What if I've doomed us all?"

Rinoa's eyes locked onto Squall's. He looked worried.

"You haven't been possessed," Edea said. "Trust me, I would know. I've been there. Ultimecia leaves very obvious marks."

Rinoa swallowed and forced herself to calm down. "Okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Why didn't Ultimecia do anything before?" Zell asked, speaking up.

"Likely because Adel was in the way," Edea said, raising her eyebrows. "I'm not positive, however."

"So, basically, we have to wait for Ultimecia to try and possess me if the other plan doesn't work?" Rinoa asked.

Edea frowned. "Unfortunately, yes. However, I'm betting that Ultimecia will jump on the opportunity to try something as soon as you and Ellone get in a room together. I could be wrong, but it's a hunch."

"So what happens if I get possessed?"

"Ellone will be able to latch on to Ultimecia's consciousness and send her back here for us to fight her," Edea answered.

"Will I stay possessed?" Rinoa asked, her voice quiet.

"Unlikely," Edea said. "But…"

"It won't matter," Squall interrupted. "I'll stop her. Simple as that. Assuming that's the plan we go with. But I think Rinoa should agree to it."

Rinoa locked eyes with him again. She had no doubt that he would stop anything bad from happening to her again. She nodded slowly, turning back to Edea.

"Yes, I'll do it. We have to get rid of Ultimecia if we want to save this World."

"We have to get rid of Ultimecia if _you _want to live a sane life," Quistis said.

"But it's not about just me," Rinoa began.

"But you still matter. Besides, _everyone _will live a saner life if Ultimecia is gone."

"That's what I said in the first place!"

"But don't forget that you matter, too."

Quistis' words were oddly striking to Rinoa. They proved that Quistis cared about her. Rinoa wasn't just a hassle with magic anymore. Quistis cared about Rinoa's well-being.

Come to think of it, so did Squall.

Rinoa smiled.

"So when do we set this plan into motion?" she asked.


	33. Scars of Friendship

**Author's Note: **I warn you, this one has feels.

* * *

_Olympus Coliseum: Zack, Age 18_

Phil was still complaining about intruders and no outside help, but that didn't stop Angeal from helping Zack with the Heartless armor thing.

"What gives, Angeal?" Zack said, once the Heartless was gone. "I didn't see you for two whole weeks! What's going on?"

Angeal frowned and looked away.

Zack frowned as well, putting his sword back on its holster. Angeal did not put his blade away.

"What…" Zack began. "Angeal, we got rid of all the Heartless. I can even hear Phil complaining that I had help. I came here looking for you. My darn star shard brought me here and I fought all the way through a cup because Phil wouldn't let me get two words in…"

"I am a monster," Angeal said.

"Angeal!" Zack argued. "We've been over this. Your degradation does not make you a monster."

"That may be so, but there are other things that make me so."

Angeal hefted his blade—his special sword. Zack only just realized he was using it. His eyes went wide. Partially because of that, and partially because the sword was pointed at him.

"Have you lost it?" Zack said.

Angeal swung.

"Stop!"

"Someone's waiting for you, no?"

"Aerith," Zack said. "Yeah, but, she understands that we're friends! She cares about you! She tried to help!"

"There's nothing that can help me now." Angeal turned his back.

"Angeal…?"

"I was the perfect experiment, Zack. My cells can absorb genetic traits and pass them onto others. A two-way conduit." There was a sneer in his voice.

"I don't see what this has to do with anything…"

"Then let me show you."

Zack gulped and walked around to face Angeal again, hesitantly drawing his blade as he did so. Angeal raised his hand and several Heartless spawned around both Zack and Angeal. However, these Heartless looked different. They all had Angeal's face, but they kept the glowing yellow eyes. Zack raised his blade at the nearest one and looked over at Angeal, trying to process what was going on.

The Heartless ran at him. Zack prepared for attack, but none of them were actually coming at him. They charged for Angeal instead. They surrounded him, pulling him down.

"Angeal!" Zack shouted.

In a burst of purple light and a sickening scream, Zack found himself faced with a Heartless-Angeal hybrid. He had four paws like some sort of lion, but also two sets of arms. One set held his sword, the other set was crossed over his chest. Then there was the wing, still pure and white, despite all the Heartless. Angeal's face was stern and sad. Zack gasped.

Heartless-Angeal reared on his back paws and tossed his sword tauntingly. He caught it and lunged forward, scratching Zack along the cheek.

"Angeal," Zack whispered. "What happened to honor?" As he finished that sentence, his voice raised to a shout.

Heartless-Angeal didn't respond. He just stood there, ready for attack. Zack raised his blade, and with tears in his eyes, he began to attack.

He aimed for the legs, trying not to get Angeal's face. The thought of it hurt too much. Heartless-Angeal slashed at Zack with his sword and Zack did his best to get out of the way.

"You'll damage that sword," Zack muttered to himself, but it didn't seem to make a difference to Angeal.

Then came the barrage of darkness knives. They flew at Zack at such a rate it reminded him of that girl he'd fought. But these were made of darkness and were thus painful. Zack couldn't help but grunt and wince every time one hit him. He cast Regen, almost wishing he had more magic in his stash, but he didn't.

He growled as Heartless-Angeal put up a barrier.

_Making this hard for me, aren't you? _Zack thought. It was the clearest thought that came through his jumbled mess of a brain at that moment. Nothing was really making sense. The only thing in his brain that was working at the moment was the part that told him to keep fighting. He had to, right? That's what Angeal wanted, right? But it stopped making sense after that.

_Prove your honor to me…_

_ How? _Zack thought to himself. _How am I supposed to prove my honor to you if you clearly don't have any honor right now?_

Of course, the Angeal in Zack's head still had all the honor of the man Zack had grown to know. But this Angeal in front of him, this Heartless-hybrid was obviously controlled by something other than honor. Probably darkness.

Zack managed to get a few slices through the barrier. Then he put his sword back on the holster and got several punches in.

Heartless-Angeal cast some sort of Thunder attack. It felt like it was stronger than Thundaga as Zack took the brunt of it. He grunted and put up his MBarrier. Then he re-cast Regen. Just in case. Oh, he needed his magic not to run low.

"What is it with everyone with knives and lightning today?" he groaned as another round of the darkness knives came at him. They pierced through his MBarrier as if it wasn't even there. "Waste of magic," he muttered.

Zack rolled around to the back to land some critical hits. He got a couple in, but then Heartless-Angeal turned around and nearly skewered Zack with his sword. As it was, it left a nasty gash on both Zack's arm and his side. The physical pain was almost nothing to him, but the emotional pain nearly drove him to tears.

But he had to keep fighting. There was nothing honorable about running away from a fight.

_But there's nothing honorable about this fight, either… _ argued a voice in the back of Zack's head.

It didn't matter, there was no running from this fight. Zack was fairly certain the magical barriers were still up. As far as the Coliseum was concerned, there was still a match going on. And there was. But the only way out was up. And the only person who could fly was Angeal.

The star shard was in Zack's bag. Not that he would use it now, even if he did have it.

He slashed angrily at Heartless-Angeal, no longer wanting to make sense of it all.

Heartless-Angeal roared and cast the Thunder attack again. Thankfully, Zack's MBarrier stopped that. He slashed again with his sword, only to be parried by Angeal's own. Heartless-Angeal was much stronger than Zack and Zack ended up flying backwards. He skidded across the ground, probably tearing up the back of his shirt.

He put his hands up behind him and launched himself back up to his feet, readying his sword once again. He attacked and then watched as Heartless-Angeal sent out the barrage of darkness knives again. Zack rolled away to dodge some of them, but some of them still got him. He winced, but made no other sound regarding them.

Instead, he gave a battle-cry of his own as he ran at Heartless-Angeal again. He got in two good slices and then backed up, noting Angeal's magic-casting stance. Well, as well as he could recognize it, considering Angeal looked hardly anything like his usual self. But Zack recognized the magic casting stance.

Stupidly, he put up his sword to block it. It was the Thunder attack. The lightning crackled and sparked along Zack's sword before hitting Zack. Zack stood there, stunned and numb, gritting his teeth.

Heartless-Angeal took advantage of Zack's semi-paralyzed state and took a lunge at him. The giant sword pierced Zack's shoulder, not unlike the time Zack had done the very same to Genesis. Zack aimed to throw up his Cura, but then realized that he didn't have enough magic for that. The Regens and MBarriers had taken it all out of him. And the only items he had with him were Remedies. Thanks to Phil and his stupid rules.

Zack sunk down to his knees, clutching his arm. He wished someone were here to heal him. Angeal was here… but Angeal was not himself. Aerith was not here either. She was good at healing Zack when he wasn't paying attention to the Heartless he went after in Traverse Town. For a second, he wished she were here, but then he took back that thought immediately. He wouldn't want Aerith to see this.

He grabbed his sword and dragged himself back up to his feet, he needed to end this. He gathered up his remaining strength in order to put it into one, final attack.

_Go, go, go! _his inner thoughts screamed.

Zack slashed again and again. Heartless-Angeal did not retaliate. As Zack slashed for what felt like the dozenth time, Heartless-Angeal crumpled to his knees.

There was another burst of that purple light as the Heartless part of Angeal disappeared, leaving only a human Angeal lying there, as bloody and tired-looking as Zack felt. Zack also couldn't help but notice obvious signs of degradation now, the greying hair and pale, cracking skin. The wing was gone; instead, Angeal lay surrounded by white feathers. He held his sword limply in his hand and his eyes were focused on Zack.

Zack stood there for a couple of seconds, panting and trying to figure out what to do.

"Zack," Angeal coughed. Zack turned instantly to look at him.

"You have my thanks," Angeal continued. Zack knelt down beside Angeal as Angeal turned his head to look at Zack. The tears fell freely now and Zack made no effort to stop them.

"This… is for you," Angeal said, holding out his sword to Zack. Zack stared at it in complete shock. He shook his head, not wanting to take it, but Angeal smiled so encouragingly that Zack still reached out and took it reverently.

"Protect your honor, always…" Angeal said. Then he looked like he was going to say something else, but he merely sighed and his eyes closed.

Zack gasped. "No," he muttered, sinking (if it even were possible) lower to the ground. He looked down at Angeal's sword and then back at Angeal. Green light slowly covered Angeal. Zack sobbed.

As the final traces of Angeal faded, Zack heaved himself to his feet and clutched Angeal's sword—the Buster Sword—to him. He held it up to the sky, shaking his head. Then the rain started to fall.

_"Embrace your dreams," _said Angeal inside Zack's head. _"If you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams… and honor."_

Angeal had told that to Zack when Zack had told Angeal he'd wanted to be a hero.

Zack didn't feel very much like a hero right now.

"Hey… kid…?"

It was Phil. Zack turned and looked at him. Phil looked both shocked and sad, maybe even a bit sorry. Zack couldn't bring himself to say anything. He just ran back to where he'd put his bag. He rummaged around in it until he found the star shard. Once that was in his hand, he pictured Aerith and welcomed the pull that took him away.

He arrived just outside the hotel. But he couldn't bring himself to walk anymore. He was tired, he was wounded, and he was just so sad…

He crumpled to his knees again. Ignoring his bleeding wounds, he started to cry again.

"Zack?"

It was Aerith, but Zack couldn't stop the tears. Or the pain. The pain started about then.

He heard her footsteps and then felt her embrace as she wrapped her arms around him. Aerith gasped. "Curaga!" she said, her voice stern.

The pain faded, but the aching remained. His heart ached. Aerith wrapped her arms around him again.

"Let's get you inside," she said. "You've got some pretty bad wounds. What happened?"

Zack's response was another sob.

"Right," Aerith said. "You can talk about it when you're ready."

Aerith helped him to his feet and to his horror, he noticed she was wearing a white dress—now covered in bloodstains. He made to mention something about it, but he couldn't get his voice to work.

It probably wouldn't have mattered, Aerith was too busy trying to pick up the Buster Sword. Zack grimaced and picked that up. He went to go and take his other off the holster in order to put the Buster there, so his back could take the weight of the giant sword; however, then he realized that his sword wasn't there. He must have left it back in Olympus Coliseum.

_Better off there, I suppose… _part of him said. He wasn't entirely sure. Angeal had always talked about not wanting to use the Buster Sword because use brought about wear, tear, and rust. But the way he had handed it to Zack had made it seem like he wanted Zack to _use _it. What had changed?

Thinking about that made his head hurt. So Zack just let Aerith lead him inside. To his surprise, she didn't bother getting him a separate room. She just took him into her bedroom and sat him down on her bed. She muttered another "Cura" and then went over to Yuffie's bed.

"Can you go sleep in Leon's bed for tonight?" she asked. "I'm going to need this whole room to do a healing."

Yuffie sat up and stretched. "Yeah, I guess so," she said.

"Can you also send Cid in here? I need to talk to him."

Yuffie took one look at Zack and nodded. "Can I help?" she asked.

"Send Cid in here, first, then bring my med-kit."

"And your staff?"

"Yes," Aerith said. Yuffie nodded, and ran off.

Aerith turned back to Zack. "I'm sorry," she said. "For whatever it is that happened."

"I…" Zack began. But he couldn't finish his sentence.


	34. Melody of Agony

**Author's Note: **Usually, I don't rewrite the same thing from a different POV, but Aerith's POV and Zack's POV for this were both so necessary, that I went ahead and did it anyway. Enjoy the feels!

* * *

_Traverse Town: Aerith, Age 17_

Aerith heard Zack arrive. She had gotten very good at hearing star shards arrive. She set down the book she was reading and ran down to meet him. She was surprised to find that he was not in the lobby getting a room. Frowning, she went outside. Maybe she had heard wrong…

No! There Zack was. But he was sitting on the ground… and he was crying.

"Zack?" Aerith asked. He didn't turn. She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Then she noticed that he was covered in blood.

_Stupid_, she thought to herself. Then, aloud, she said, "Curaga!" She embraced Zack once again. She noticed that Zack held Angeal's sword. Zack's sword was nowhere to be found. It didn't take Aerith much to piece together possible scenarios. Whatever the cause, Angeal was gone. She could feel it in her very bones. No wonder Zack was crying.

"Let's get you inside," she said, trying to keep her voice light. Zack could use some light. "You've got some pretty bad wounds," she added. "What happened?"

Zack choked on another sob. Aerith winced.

"Right," she said. "You can talk about it when you're ready."

She put her arm under Zack's and helped him to his feet. Once he was standing, she bent down to get Angeal's sword. But it was no use, she couldn't lift it. She frowned. Zack picked it up. Aerith watched him reach for where his sword should have been and realize it wasn't there. His face fell and his hand dropped to his side. Angeal's sword was still in his hand, but he seemed intent to keep it there.

Quietly, Aerith led him inside. They walked right through the lobby and the hotel manager said nothing to them. Aerith could get Zack another room. She could probably get it for free, or arrange to have it paid for later, since she didn't have any munny on her and she wasn't going to make Zack pay for a room, given the state he was in. However, for right now, he could just sleep in her bed. In fact, Leon's bed was open! However, Aerith couldn't have Zack sleeping in there when she needed to keep an eye on him all night. It would be rude to Cid. Perhaps she could just move Yuffie into Leon's bed. Yes, that would work.

She led him straight to her bed and made him sit down.

"Cura," she said quietly, for added measure. She had yet to examine the extent of his injuries. However, there was another thing she needed to take care of first.

She walked over to Yuffie's bed and carefully nudged Yuffie awake.

"Can you go sleep in Leon's bed for tonight?" she asked. "I'm going to need this whole room to do a healing."

Yuffie pushed herself up groggily. "Yeah," she said, half-yawning. "I guess so."

"Can you also send Cid in here?" Aerith added. "I need to talk to him."

Yuffie looked beyond Aerith and noticed Zack. Her eyes went wide and she nodded fervently. "Can I help?" she asked.

Aerith pursed her lips. "Send Cid in here first," she said. "Then bring my med-kit."

"And your staff?" Yuffie asked.

"Yes," Aerith said. Her staff would be useful.

Yuffie nodded once more and ran off. Aerith steeled herself and turned back to Zack, who had been sitting quietly the entire time. He looked like he was in shock.

"I'm sorry," Aerith said. "For whatever it is that happened."

"I…" Zack started, but his words caught in his throat.

Aerith shook her head. "Don't. Let's get a look at all of this."

xx

"Cid!" Yuffie hissed. "Cid! Wake up!"

Cid grumbled and sat up. "What, kid?"

Yuffie frowned. "Zack's here, he's hurt. Aerith says she wants to talk to you. They're in our room."

Cid blinked. He scratched his head and shook his head in an attempt to wake himself up more. Right. Aerith. Zack. Healing, probably.

"I'll be righ' there…" he muttered.

Yuffie gave a curt nod and ran off.

Cid slid on a pair of shoes and put on his robe. He grabbed a piece of straw and put it in his mouth. It would help wake him up.

By the time he finally made it over to the other room, Aerith had all the lights on (effectively making Cid wince) and was working an obviously massive healing spell. Zack was lying on Aerith's bed, his shirt and shoes discarded on the floor. Cid noticed a very large sword in the corner. It was bloody. Then again, so was Zack.

Aerith was concentrating her efforts on Zack's shoulder. Cid grimaced at the sight. It wasn't pretty. There were countless other scrapes and scratches all over Zack's torso. Cid couldn't help but wonder if the poor kid's legs looked as bad.

He did, at least, have the tact not to ask what had happened. Now was not the time. Cid had seen his fair share of battles.

In fact, this looked oddly reminiscent of Raine working on Laguna. Of course, Laguna'd been in a backfired explosion. Zack looked like he hit the wrong end of a sword—multiple times.

"Yuffie said yeh needed me?" he grunted.

"Yuffie will need to sleep in Leon's bed tonight. I'm probably going to be up all night with Zack, and it's not fair to either of you for me to keep you guys up. And this was just easier than getting another room."

Aerith's words came out in a rush. She looked like she was in between Cures.

"Yeah, sure," Cid said. "Anythin' I can do teh help?"

Aerith initially shook her head. Then she frowned. She raised her eyebrows and jerked her head, ever so slightly, in Yuffie's direction.

Yuffie was sitting cross-legged on her own bed, her chin resting in her hands, looking very intently at Aerith and Zack.

Cid's eyes widened. He did _not _want to be the one to convince Yuffie that she had to leave Aerith and Zack. Cid wasn't good at that sort of thing at all.

But there was no arguing with Aerith. Especially seeing as she had diverted her attention back to Zack's shoulder. Which was… was that muscle?!

Zack groaned. Aerith hissed.

"I need a bucket of ice," she said.

"I'll get it!" Yuffie volunteered. Before Cid had even turned around to look at her, she was out of the room.

"When she brings the bucket back," Aerith said. "I need you to get her out of here. She really shouldn't be watching. I think his shoulder's the worst… but…" She gestured to a nasty gash on Zack's side and a matching one on his arm. There was even a deep gash on Zack's face.

Cid nodded. "Righ'," he muttered. "I'll try and keep her outta yer hair."

"Thanks," Aerith said.

Cid looked at Zack. "Hang in there, kid. Yer in good hands."

xx

Aerith was probably up half the night healing. She ended up using all but one of the ethers, with the amount of healing magic she pumped into Zack. She even took two Elixirs for herself and gave two more to Zack, once he was conscious enough to take them.

After she'd started the healing process, Zack floated in and out of a state of shock. Aerith wished there was something she could do to knock him out, but she didn't know a spell for that. Not one that wouldn't counteract what she was doing to heal him.

When she had finally finished his shoulder—a process that took a lot of Curagas, some physical stitches, and ice—he regained a good amount of consciousness. However, he was still very lethargic and tired. That's about when she pumped the Elixirs into him.

She dealt with the gashes on his side and shoulder and bandaged them up. Then she moved to the one on his face, bandaging it as well. Since it had stopped bleeding with all the rest of the Cures she'd used, she didn't figure she'd waste anymore magic on it. Not at the moment. And there was still other things to treat. There were scratches that looked like they came from knives over just about all of Zack's body. And his back was scraped and bloody (not to mention full of sand.) So she had to clean that up.

Aside from the occasional grunts and groans, Zack was quiet.

When Aerith had done all she could, she told Zack to sleep and then made her way to Yuffie's bed to get some sleep of her own. However, she waited until Zack was asleep before daring to drift off on her own.

She barely got a wink before she was startled awake by Zack's screaming. She was out of bed and next to him in a matter of mere seconds. He was having a nightmare, that much was clear. She threw herself over him, being wary of his injuries, in an attempt to calm him down. It only barely worked.

"Aerith?" Zack asked.

"Yes, Zack?" she said, looking up at him.

He closed his eyes. "Angeal…"

"You don't have to say…" she said.

"Yes… I… do…" Zack said, pausing in between each word.

Aerith braced herself.

"The darkness got to him, I think," Zack said. "Whatever it was… I had to kill him."

Aerith gasped. "That's horrible."

"Nngh," was Zack's response. His face contorted in pain and agony both. He tried to roll over, but his injuries made him virtually immobile. Aerith found both of his hands and gripped them tight.

"Something about genetic code," Zack said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "And he couldn't continue living, lest risk making it all worse. He said I had to… But then, as he lay there… he was happy… he told me to protect my honor… but if he was going to say anything beyond that… I don't know…"

Aerith's eyes went wide. If Angeal _was _going to say anything else, Aerith knew where it was. She would need to give Zack that letter. Just… not tonight.

Aerith forced herself to remain calm. Zack began crying again. Aerith bowed her head and sent off a prayer for peace to the Goddess. She shifted so that she was in the bed next to Zack. She laid one hand on his chest and shifted so her other hand could rest on his head.

"Sleep," she whispered, putting the teensiest bit of magic into it. "I'll keep the nightmares away."

xx

Aerith made sure Zack didn't leave the bed for two whole days. Not that Zack really wanted to move, anyway. He really wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing. Everything felt really empty. He'd lost Angeal—his best friend. Worse still, he'd had to…

Except he couldn't bring himself to think about that. Aerith told him it was okay that he didn't want to think about it.

Aerith was surprisingly understanding about the whole thing. Or knowledgeable. Or something or other. He couldn't help but be grateful. Yuffie and Cid didn't say much. Yuffie kept bringing Zack trinkets, some of which he couldn't help but wonder where she'd gotten them. Cid brought tea and soup, and offered nothing else but encouraging words.

By the third day, Zack was feeling well enough to get up and walk around. The first thing he did was clean off Angeal's sword. It was covered in blood (probably mostly Zack's own) and dirt. Cleaning put strain on his right shoulder, but Zack pushed through it all the same. Aerith scolded him, telling him he needed to be really careful with that shoulder, especially if he wanted to be able to fight again like normal. Zack had to wonder what 'normal' meant.

But here he sat, in a clean shirt and pants, holding the Buster Sword in his hands. He stared at it. He could see his reflection and knew that he had a scar on his cheek now. Aerith had seemed so apologetic when she realized that wasn't going to heal all the way up. Zack brushed it off. Aerith had done so much, he wasn't going to nitpick over a scar on his face. He had one on his side, too. The gash on his arm had healed up. Surprisingly, so had his shoulder, as far as visible injury went. But, if Zack was honest with himself, he'd lost count on how many Curaga's Aerith had focused just on his shoulder.

He looked up as Aerith walked into the room. She held a letter in her hands.

"It's from Angeal," she said. "He sent it to me a while ago. He said I'd know when to give it to you."

Zack blinked and took the letter from Aerith. She squeezed his good shoulder encouragingly and left the room again.

Zack opened the letter.

..

_Zack, _

_I won't waste time on useless talk. You wouldn't believe half of it if anyway, coming from me. If things panned out how I'm betting they did, you're obviously devastated and confused. I wish I held answers, but I don't. You are a wonderful hero, Zack. You have more honor than probably even me. Thank you, Zack. You taught me how to live again. And now I'm off on another adventure, but probably not as exciting as the many ones I had with you by my side. _

_ Remember to protect your honor. Also, embrace your dreams. Without those two things, a hero is nothing. Also, protect Aerith. But let her protect you as well. You two look out for each other. _

_ With all my love and thanks,_

_ Angeal_

_.._

A single tear fell from Zack's face and hit the letter. Zack blinked future tears away and slipped the letter back in his pocket, keeping it neatly folded. Then he stood slowly and held the Buster Sword out in front of him. He gripped it tight and then swung it around to put it on his holster.

He had dreams to embrace.


	35. Leon Can't Even

**Author's Note: **Little later in the day than I had originally anticipated, I'm working on an essay for class and kept putting off things that weren't said essay for obvious reasons (getting done... heh.) Anyway, momentary break from that anyway to post this. I'll admit, it's not quite as feels-full as previous chapters, but the feels-fest is certainly not over yet. (I will tell you when it is.)

* * *

_Centra: Leon, Age 19_

They were on a ship. Leon, Rinoa, Quistis, Zell, Laguna, and Edea. All of them had travelled south to where the ship that housed Ellone was currently stationed. Leon had mixed feelings about this. There was a lot riding on very few people. And he wasn't one of them.

Well, technically, he was Rinoa's Knight. So there was a quite a bit riding on him after all. Still though, Plan A involved Ellone being able to send them to Time Compression. If that failed, they would have to wait around for Ultimecia to possess Rinoa so that Ellone could do her trick. Leon didn't like the idea of waiting around. Waiting in and of itself was fine. But waiting to be possessed? That was just ridiculous. They couldn't live like that.

Edea and Laguna led the way through the ship, having both been on it before. Apparently, Edea had spent quite a bit of time on this ship prior to being possessed by Ultimecia. Quistis and Zell walked behind the two of them, with Leon and Rinoa bringing up the rear. Leon kept a hand protectively on Rinoa's back. If she minded, she didn't say anything. But Leon would bet that she didn't mind.

They got to the room where Ellone was, which was another meeting room of sorts. Leon found himself growing tired of meeting rooms.

Ellone stood up to greet them. She hugged Laguna and Edea with familiarity. She shook both Zell and Quistis' hands. She took both of Rinoa's hands in her own and gave her a big smile. Rinoa seemed comforted by this. Then Ellone turned her attention to Leon.

"Dad tells me we're siblings," she said. "Well, half-siblings, anyway."

"S'pose so," Leon said with a shrug.

Ellone smiled sadly. "Interesting, how we ended up meeting under these circumstances."

Leon nodded.

And that was all she said. She did not force herself on Leon for any sort of physical contact. She did not give him apologies or pity or anything. Leon found this oddly nice. Ellone wasn't going to try and make up for a past she could not change. Nor was she going to make useless attempts to make up for lost time. What was done was done and Leon was much happier leaving that all in the past.

"So, what's this plan you've cooked up?" Ellone asked, looking right at Edea.

"Would you be able to send us to the end of time, where Ultimecia is?" Edea asked.

Ellone frowned. "Unfortunately, I don't think I can. I can only send people to events I know about, or a past I've lived through. I would have to have something to lock onto, to hone in on." She shook her head. "I don't think it's possible."

Leon heard Rinoa's breathing speed up and he put a hand on her knee comfortingly.

Edea was frowning in thought, however. "You said you needed something to lock onto, right? I just might have that. Ultimecia possessed me once. Do you think you could take that part of my consciousness, and mirror it back to where Ultimecia is from?"

"Perhaps," Ellone said, drawing the word out. "Let me try."

She reached out to Edea. "If I may?"

Edea nodded and leaned forward.

Ellone put her fingers on Edea's temples. She closed her eyes, concentrating. Rinoa shifted so that her hand was on his. Leon found this oddly… nice.

"Hmm," Ellone said. "Yes." She pulled away from Edea. Edea sat back, waiting in interested. "Do you want the good news, or the bad news?" she asked.

_Bad,_ Leon thought to himself.

"Bad," Rinoa whispered.

"Let's hear the good," Laguna said, louder than Rinoa.

"I'd like some good news," Zell added.

"The good news is," Ellone said, looking at each of them in turn. "I can send you there. The bad news is, there is a high chance of Ultimecia interfering. The _worse _news is…"

"Oh there's worse news?" Quistis asked, wrinkling up her face.

Ellone nodded. "The worst news is that you might die. I can send you there, but…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence. The rest of them could fill that information in.

"Well, back up a second," Leon said. "How can Ultimecia interfere? What's the worst that could happen?"

"There are a lot of things that could happen. She could interfere so that only Rinoa gets through…"

Ellone didn't have to explain why _that _would be bad.

"She could interfere so that Rinoa didn't get through at all."

That… that could be worked around.

"She could interfere so that you aren't the people you truly are when you come out on the other side…"

"Right, so there are a lot of things that can go wrong," Leon interrupted her, not wanting or needing to hear anymore. But what are our other options?"

No one had anything for him.

"What if she possesses me?" Rinoa asked quietly. "And then Ellone…"

"It would be the same thing," Ellone said.

Rinoa nodded.

"What if we tried to fight Ultimecia while she was possessing Rinoa?" Zell asked.

"Ultimecia would just be knocked back to her own time in the case of defeat," Edea replied. "We'd need to get to her physical body."

"So, it looks like we might as well go with Ellone sending us to the end of time," Leon said. "Sure, there's a lot of things that can go wrong, but it's looking like that's our only option."

"I agree," Quistis said. Leon was happy that _someone _at least saw things his way.

"Me too," Rinoa said. "I like it better than other options."

Leon felt her shudder.

Ellone nodded. "Then I can do that. Will all of you be going?"

"It would increase our chances if all of us went," Laguna said. "So, yes."

Ellone nodded. "I suggest that you make sure everything is taken care of before you leave. Just in case something goes wrong."

Leon was immediately presented with an image of Traverse Town. Goodness, how long had it been since he left? Nearly two years. Sure, he had an idea of what was going on, with the letters and all… but…

"I'll send word to Cid," Edea said.

"I'll let Esthar know what's going on," Laguna said.

"If Edea sends word to Cid, then I probably won't need to do anything," Quistis mused.

Zell didn't say anything, he just sat back in his seat and put his arms behind his head.

Rinoa was silent as well.

"I'll need to send a letter home," Leon announced. "There's someone who's expecting to hear from me."

Suddenly, Rinoa removed her hand from on top of Leon's. Her movement was so sudden, that Leon removed his hand from her knee as well. He looked over to her, confused, but she wouldn't look at him. He frowned, not knowing what was going on.

"I think it would be best to do this tomorrow," Ellone said. "That way, you guys can make calls and send letters, and then rest up before we try and do anything."

"That sounds like a great idea," Laguna said. He turned to Edea. "Do you want the phone first, or shall I?"

"You go first," Edea said. "Your matter is entirely political. Mine is more personal."

Leon noticed a bit of red rush to her cheeks as she said this. He reminded himself that Edea and Headmaster Cid were married and that was entirely appropriate.

Edea and Laguna both left the room.

Ellone turned to the other four. "I'll show you your rooms. Do you mind sharing?"

Leon looked at the other four. He blinked, his brain taking a bit to process…

"I think it works out," Ellone continued. "Quistis can share with Rinoa, and Zell can share with Leon. Unless…"

"That will be fine," Rinoa said. She said it very quickly. Quistis turned and looked between Leon and Rinoa, her lips pursed. Leon's eyes widened, completely lost.

"Then I'll show you your rooms," Ellone said.

They all got up and followed Ellone out of the room.

"Can you excuse me and Rinoa for just a second," Leon said, deciding that he wasn't going to let this go any farther. He was done trying to sit and mull things over that concerned her. He needed to think quickly when it came to her.

Rinoa turned around and nearly glared at him. He ignored it.

"Yes, of course!" Ellone said. "Your rooms will be on the deck below." She pointed to a staircase. "I'll wait for you guys there after I show Quistis and Zell their rooms."

Leon nodded. Ellone, Quistis, and Zell all walked away.

"What?" Rinoa hissed.

"No," Leon said. "What is with you? You're mad at me, and I don't know what I did."

"I'm not mad," Rinoa said. "I'm hurt."

"Okay," Leon said. "Again, I don't know what I did."

"This is about Aerith, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"You have to talk to Aerith! The person who's expecting to hear from you, it's her, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Should've known," Rinoa muttered. "It's always been her, hasn't it? You're always sending her letters and stuff. You miss her."

"Well… yeah…"

Rinoa sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You and her are a thing, aren't you? You're like, some couple and I've just been too stupid to notice. You've loved her all this time and that's why you're writing letters and constantly thinking about your home. I don't even know why you're still here anymore…"

"Whoa! Whoa! Now wait a cotton-picking second!" Leon said. Had the situation not been so tense, he would have laughed at the amount of Cid that just came out of his mouth. "You've got it all wrong!"

"Oh, really?"

Leon sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Yes, I send letters to Aerith. Yes, I miss her. Yes, I care about her. But, I don't _love _her! Not like _that_, anyway. I love her like… a brother loves his little sister. Aerith _really is _like a sister to me. She and I have been through a lot together, namely our World falling into darkness. But, we're not a couple." He rolled his eyes. The amount of people that thought _that _was just ridiculous. The people in Traverse Town, he almost understood, but Rinoa? Where would she even get such an idea?

"Those people back in Traverse Town are like a family to me," Leon continued. "That's why I'm always writing them. Usually, I write Aerith because I know she'll actually read what I write. I'm going to write her and tell her what we're going to do and not to worry. But I'm also going to tell her that there's a chance that I might not come back, because she deserves to know. But… no. She and I aren't… just… no!"

Rinoa blinked.

"Why would you even think such a thing?" Leon found himself asking. Though, he figured it was probably a very tactless thing to ask.

Rinoa rubbed her temples. "It's just… you're always talking her and them… and I couldn't help but think… I thought… I thought that perhaps that was why you didn't notice me. Ever since I became a Sorceress, I can't help but think that no one cares about me and…"

"Okay," Leon said. "This is much deeper than you thinking I love Aerith." He braced himself internally. He wasn't very good at this sort of conversation. "The whole Sorceress thing, I don't care about. I mean, I care about _you_ and your safety. But I don't think you're some sort of pariah for having those powers. I'm not from this World, remember?" Leon laughed. "My dad might be from here, but that doesn't mean anything regarding my viewpoints. And I'm fairly certain that everyone else on this ship doesn't think any less of you because you have such great powers. Quistis and Edea care a lot about you, from what I can tell. Zell, I'm not sure, and hell if I know what my dad thinks. Even Ellone cares about you."

Rinoa sniffled. Leon breathed deeply.

"As for all that other stuff…" he paused, trying to figure out how to word it. "If you're saying something along the lines of me not noticing your affection, which I think is what you're saying, correct me if I'm wrong…"

Rinoa said nothing.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. It wasn't that I didn't notice it. It was that I didn't know how to return to it. For a while there, I didn't return the affection. But… when they took you captive in Esthar and I had to return to Balamb without you. I realized… I realized that I didn't want to be without you. Rinoa, I care about you. In fact, I think I _love _you."

Rinoa burst into tears.

"Okay then…" Leon muttered. "That was not the reaction I was expecting."

On impulse, he put his arms around Rinoa. She melded to him, but continued to cry.

"I'm so scared…" she said, her voice hardly above a whisper. "I'm scared that I'm going to get possessed any moment and that I'm going to ruin everything. Sure, people may not hate me now, but they sure will hate me once Ultimecia gets involved."

"Hush," Leon said. "No one hates Edea."

"But… won't _you_…"

"Stop," Leon said. "If you get possessed by Ultimecia, it is not your fault. Besides, I've already told you that I will make Ultimecia go away. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to get rid of Ultimecia once and for all." He paused, thinking about his next sentence very carefully. "So that way, you and I can live together after it's all over."


	36. Letters and Notes

**Author's Note: **And now, a brief interruption of the normal prose, but the feels continue.

* * *

**_Costa del Sol_**

**_FWD: Cloud Strife_**

**_From Tifa Lockhart_**

**_Nibelheim_**

**_Cloud,_**

**_ I know I said I was going to follow you, but it's taken me a lot of time to get everything together and be able to finally leave Nibelheim. I know why it took you so long. If nothing else, Zangan's really supportive of the whole idea. He even gave me extra lessons for free. _**

**_ My dad thinks I'm crazy, no surprises there. He doesn't want me to go. Also no surprises. I'm going anyway, despite what he says. I know I'm not really all that old yet, in the grand scheme of things. But I can't just keep sitting here, waiting on something else to happen. I want to go see the world. So. I am._**

**_Your mom, is also super supportive of this whole idea. She's going to send me off with a goodbye breakfast. I'm looking forward to it. Oh, and she told me to find you. _**

**_ And, I suppose that's part of my plan. _**

**_ Anyway. My work was super good about me leaving. They didn't really give me any trouble. I think my boss knew I was going to leave eventually, despite wanting the job so badly. It was nice though, I had this really great couple of people come through. One of them said it was on his bucket list to see the Mako springs on Mt. Nibel before he died. (Though, why he'd be thinking about dying when he looks no older than thirty is beyond me.) I only mention them because they were mercenaries of sorts—definitely the adventuring type. The younger one, especially, reminded me of you. He's probably not that much older than us. He was really sweet and kept mentioning a 'girl back home'. _****_I almost wish someone would think that of me. _****_But yeah, they were nice, and happy, even. I thought about asking them about you, but I doubt they've ever seen you. There are so many adventurers out there that it would take years to meet all the other ones, and that's probably if you were trying._**

**_ I hope you're out there, okay. I really just want you to be okay. I haven't heard from you since you left, and I'm afraid something's happened to you. _**

**_ But anyway, this is the last letter I'll send to you from Nibelheim. At least for a while, that is. I intend to be gone for a while. I'll be off adventuring. And searching. I'm going to find you! If you read this, write a letter home to your mom, and then see if you can find me. We might be able to find each other if we're both looking. You should come find me though. What if I get into a bind? You promised!_**

**_Anyway, at some point, I suppose, I'll come back to Nibelheim. Maybe. I suppose I should, to visit my dad, your mom, Zangan, and perhaps my boss. He's nice. I'll write you another letter from Nibelheim so you know. _**

**_ However, if you don't read this letter, then I suppose it doesn't matter. I know Costa del Sol's a long shot, but I had to try. It's the only city on this darn world I haven't written a letter to, I think._**

**_ I plan to go to Midgar. After that, I'm not sure. But I'm going to start with Midgar. A lot of things start in Midgar, don't they? _**

**_I still miss you,_**

**_Tifa_**

**_xx_**

_To Balamb Garden_

_ATTN: Squall Leonhart_

_From Aerith Gainsborough _

_Traverse Town_

_Leon,_

_ I hope everything's okay. I haven't heard from you since your last letter where you said you went to get Rinoa. There's a part of me that just wants to pretend that everything went well. That you got her and she's safe now, and everything's lovely. That way someone can at least have a happy sort of life right now._

_ But, then I remember that I shouldn't think up such fantasies and get my hopes too high, just in case. I have a feeling that you're fine, but I would like to know. Write when you can. I'll start sending letters to Quistis, if I must!_

_ Things here are, well, they've been better. _

_ Zack got me a great book about dark magic, so I can read up on them and find counter-magics for them all. _

_ Unfortunately, Angeal also passed. Something crazy happened with Angeal and the Heartless and I'm not quite sure if I understand it. Thus, I'm not even going to bother trying to explain it in a letter to you. I'll explain it when you're here. I mean, it's hardly even my story to tell, but it's such an interesting connection to the Heartless that I feel it's relevant to day-to-day life. Don't worry though, I've got it under control. _

_ Still though, Zack's got it rough. He's been staying in Traverse Town. He keeps getting nightmares. Which is sad. I wish I could make them go away, but I don't even know how. I'm just going to be there for him, because that's all I know how to do. There's no magic to fix nightmares and the aftershock of horrible things. People just… move on. _

_ Cid's planning on opening up a shop. And here we thought Traverse Town was going to be temporary! Well, anyway, he's setting up an accessory shop and I'm going to help imbue the charms with protection magics and whatnot. It should be great. Cid's got the place and we're fixing it up right now. It'll help bring munny in. Though, worlds' know we've done quite our fair share to keep the rooms. _

_ Yuffie's doing well in school. She's stopped complaining when I send her at least. I think I just had to remind her that I used to go to school when I was her age, and that you used to do it, and that Zack used to do it, and I think she's got it figured out that she just needs to go to school for now. Maybe in a few years, we'll discuss whether or not she needs to keep going. I mean, she's only ten. She should go for a few more years. Even if we leave Traverse Town. Though, where we will go if we did is another story. Zack could take us all somewhere else with his star shard, but where would we go? We're settled well enough in Traverse Town. We might as well stay, honestly._

_ Oh goodness, I'm rambling. I really try not to do that in letters, but every now and then, I just trail off into the trivial and the unimportant. I hope you don't mind. _

_ Anyway, write when you can, I'm sure you're busy. Let me know if Rinoa's okay or not. I'm praying she is. I really do wish the best for the two of you. _

_Wishing you well!_

_Aerith_

_xx_

To Aerith Gainsborough

Traverse Town Hotel

From Squall Leonhart

Centra

Aerith,

Just as a heads up, don't send stuff to this address, I'm not sure I'm going to be here for very long. Correction, I'm not. Continue sending stuff to Balamb Garden, that's still your best bet.

Anyway, with that business out of the way. I'm writing to tell you that this may be my last letter. I don't know. It's… Oh, if you could see me sighing now…

It's like this: we have to go fight Ultimecia. We have to rid the worlds of her, otherwise no one is safe, particularly Rinoa, but she's insisting that she's a small matter and the world is a bigger one. Fine. Whatever. But back to the fighting Ultimecia part.

Where we have to go to fight her is basically the end of time. The sheer act of going there might kill us. (Don't ask me how we're getting there, it involves magic. My half-sister's magic, to be precise.) Anyway, but going there might kill us. Fighting Ultimecia might kill us. The stakes are very high, but we have no other options and sticking our heads in the sand isn't going to do us any damn bit of good, so we've got to go.

The plan is, assuming we survive getting there, we find Ultimecia and fight her to the death. There's a lot of us going, so that should increase our chances. I'll be going, Rinoa will be going, Quistis and Zell will be going. So will my father and Edea. I have mixed feelings about my father going, but I think that just has everything to do with I have mixed feelings about my father and not much else. Edea going will probably help us a lot. She seems to know what Ultimecia's after and she's a wonderful wealth of knowledge.

Oh, I should probably say I rescued Rinoa, shouldn't I?

I rescued Rinoa.

It wasn't too much trouble getting to her, once I got to her. The hardest part was banishing Adel from her, which I'm sure you knew would be the case. That left Rinoa really shaken. She's a bit emotional about it, and I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do. I guess I'm at as much of a loss with her on that one as you are at a loss with Zack and him not being able to cope with killing someone. I know, they're totally different things and I'm not actually equating one to another. It just falls under 'everyone has their own stuff to deal with and we shouldn't belittle them for it.'

I suppose Rinoa might be getting a little better now, though. I've spoken with her on the whole issue a couple times now. I think I've got her convinced that no one hates her. Why would she even think such a thing? I might be biased a little, but she's hard to hate!

Don't tease me. I don't want to live with you teasing me. But, I like Rinoa. I went and I rescued her and I swore I'd rescue her time and time again. She just has to believe me. I think she does now.

But man, girls are so emotional! (I suppose that statement is unfair, for I don't find you horribly emotional… and before I dig this hole, I'm going to stop.)

Anyway, I promise I'll send word as soon as I'm back in the present time and I'm sure I'm okay.

Leon

xx

**To Aerith Gainsborough**

**Traverse Town Hotel**

**From Mr. and Mrs. Fair**

**Gongaga **

**Aerith, **

** Our son told us we could write to you and you would ensure he got our letters. He's been away from home for a while and dropped us a line saying this was the best place to reach him.**

** At some point, we would like to meet the lovely lady he's been talking about. Next time he's around you should tell him to bring you home for dinner. We wouldn't mind the company.**

** The enclosed letter is for Zack. Please pass it along to him.**

**Best wishes,**

**Mr. and Mrs. Fair**

**..**

**Zack, **

** You can't just write us like that and casually mention Aerith's your girlfriend in the post script! That's rude! Though, we do appreciate being told where we can send you mail. It is nice. **

** Your father says that you shouldn't worry too much about killing a bad man. Yes, it can be confusing, but if you killed him out of self-defense, then there's really nothing that you can blame yourself for. Don't beat yourself up over it. **

** We are glad though that Angeal and Aerith are helping sort things out. **

** We'd like you to bring home Aerith to meet us! We told her too that you should bring her. It's just, you brought home Angeal and introduced us and he seemed like he was a really nice man and, in short, we'd like to meet Aerith as well. Especially if she's your girlfriend!**

** Nothing much else to say. Gongaga is the same as you left it. You should come home and visit. Bring Aerith.**

**We love you,**

**Mom and Dad**

**xx**

_Cid,_

_ I know you're busy, which is why I'm leaving this on the door. Zack and I are going out for a while. He wants to get up and moving to clear his head. Yuffie knows to walk home from school if no one's there to pick her up. However, if you can't find her, you're going to need to go looking for her. She's a ninja, that one. Zack and I will probably be home for dinner. _

_Thanks so much, _

_Aerith_


	37. Omega Weapon

**Author's Note: **Right, this chapter. The one I wrote out of order and I'll explain why next chapter... Ish. Sort of. Idk. Ya'll probably don't care anyway. Enjoy though!

* * *

_Centra, Quistis, Age 20_

They wasted no time the next morning getting ready to go. Ellone was waiting for them in the meeting room once more. Quistis couldn't help but notice the slightly worried faces and shifty glances. If Quistis was honest with herself, she was worried about what was going to happen to them, too. Quistis kept a particular eye on Rinoa. The poor girl just hadn't been the same since Esthar, and understandably so. She and Leon seemed to have sorted whatever it was out and she didn't look any more worried than anyone else.

The two were even holding hands. Quistis did her best not to intrude.

"So what do we have to do," Laguna asked.

"Just sit here," Ellone said. "I'll send your consciousnesses forward in time."

"Just our consciousnesses, or our whole bodies?" Zell asked.

"You'll have bodies on the other side," Ellone said. "Trust me."

"Provided Ultimecia doesn't interfere," Leon said grimly.

No one had a response to that. Edea suggested Ellone should just start before anyone could second-guess themselves. Not that anyone would, Quistis thought to herself.

Then everything went black. Quistis froze, unsure if that was supposed to happen. Then, all of a sudden, Quistis was falling. She looked to either side of her and saw that everyone else was falling, too.

"What's going on?" Zell asked.

Leon shrugged. "Go with it, we don't have another option."

They landed on the ground, surprisingly none of them hurt. Star shard travel was more dangerous than this, it would seem. Quistis picked herself up and pulled out her whip, just in case. She looked around.

"We appear to be in Centra ruins," Edea mused. "Those buildings do have a sense of familiarity to them."

"We're close," Rinoa said. "I can feel her."

"Me too," Edea said.

"Which way do we go?" Zell asked.

Rinoa and Edea both pointed.

"How safe is it?" Laguna asked.

"Not very," was Edea's response.

Everyone pulled out their weapons. Well, except Edea, since she didn't have one. She'd be fighting entirely with para-magic. Zell didn't have a weapon either, aside from his fists.

"Well," Quistis said. "Let's go."

So they went. Unsurprisingly, they hadn't gone very far before they ran into a large amount of Heartless. They started fighting, there was no other way around them. Between the six of them, getting past individual Heartless was not a problem, but undoubtedly the thought was on everyone's minds of what would happen if the Heartless continued coming.

"If we're at the end of time, does that mean that Heartless eventually take over our World?" Rinoa asked.

"I wouldn't think too hard on it, if I were you," Quistis said. "It'll make your head hurt."

"Actually, I think this is just a representation of the end of time as it exists from where we came from," Leon said. "If we destroy Ultimecia and keep her from meddling throughout time with her darkness, the end of time may end up looking different."

"You put too much thought into that," Zell muttered, scrunching up his face.

"When do you have _time _to think about that sort of thing?" Quistis found herself asking.

Leon just shrugged. "I've put a lot of thought into Heartless and darkness as it relates to Worlds."

Quistis didn't press further. They just continued fighting the Heartless. Unsurprisingly, the Heartless kept coming. It was almost like fighting some mythical creature, kill one and three more show up. It was tiring, almost. The constant sounds of slashing swords, thwaping whips, machine guns, various magic, as well as the occasional battle cry mixed with the sounds of Heartless dying and appearing.

They at least were moving forward, albeit slowly. They appeared to be heading to a giant castle of sorts. Rinoa and Edea were both sure that that's where they were going. The closer they got to the castle, the more horrific the Heartless became. No longer were they just black with yellow eyes and scraggly antennae. Now they had colors mixed in, blues, reds and purples. The Heartless looked angrier, and thus meaner. Quistis noticed that some of them even looked like monsters that she used to see around Balamb years ago—but they had the definite Heartless eyes.

After a long time of fighting their way through hordes and hordes of Heartless, Zell asked the question that no one had dared ask:

"What happens if they don't stop?"

No one answered him for a bit. Mostly everyone was too busy dealing with five or six Heartless at once.

"Well, we're still working our way to the castle," Laguna said. "However slowly…"

"We might be too tired when we get there," Leon said grimly.

"I could perhaps do something to get rid of a lot of them at once," Rinoa said. "I've got the power."

"You don't want to waste it," Edea said. "Even if you've got an unlimited amount of it. We don't want anyone getting tired."

"I think we're all getting tired anyway," Quistis said.

"Well, our options are to use a big attack to try and get rid of loads of them at once and make a run for it when it's clear," Leon said. "Or to keep plugging at it the way we are."

"Guardian Forces!" Quistis said, smacking herself that the idea hadn't come to her sooner. "We're all being such fools!"

"Take turns," Zell said. "That'll probably be the best."

"Summon and run," Leon said.

"I'll start," Rinoa said. She summoned Eden. Quistis watched Leon move over to cover Rinoa, just in case anything went wrong during the summoning process. Nothing did. Eden got rid of a large chunk of Heartless before disappearing again.

"Run!" both Leon and Quistis shouted simultaneously.

"Cover me!" Leon shouted once they were surrounded by Heartless once more. Quistis and Rinoa both moved to cover him as he summoned his Guardian Force, Shiva. As the ice covered the area and the Heartless froze and disappeared, everyone began to run again.

"My turn!" Quistis said, summoning Quetzalcoatl. The giant thunder bird appeared and electrocuted this round of Heartless. Everyone ran.

"Yo!" Zell shouted. He was already summoning Ifrit. He nearly didn't make it, for a large Heartless showed up behind him and sliced at his back.

"Finish the summoning sequence!" Quistis shouted, tossing up a Cure for him. She didn't care if she should save them. Zell needed one now.

Ifrit came and destroyed that round of Heartless with his fiery breath. Edea moved to summon Bahamut.

However, what arrived was not Bahamut. It was more of a centaur than a dragon. It was huge and ugly, almost like two bodies mashed together. It also most certainly was not a Heartless. Likely, it was one of Ultimecia's personal monsters. It destroyed all the remaining Heartless with a single pillar of light, making an awful noise as it did so. Quistis frowned at it.

"I suppose now we've gotta fight this, now, don't we?" Zell asked.

"I'm going to say yes," Leon replied, readying his blade.

They all readied to fight whatever this monster was.

"This should help," Edea said, casting a spell on Leon. "It'll make you stronger."

Leon was bathed in an orange glow. Quistis vaguely recognized the spell. Aura, was it? She'd never seen it in use before.

Rinoa wasted no time in casting Meltdown on the thing. Quistis smiled, that was a smart move, weakening its defenses from the start. They could use that. They could use whatever they got, really. They couldn't afford to lose to this guy.

Quistis did a quick scan, to see if anything came up in her records. The response labeled the monster as the Omega Weapon, and said that they were all very unlucky to be running into it in the first place.

"Lovely," she muttered to herself before turning her attention back to fighting the thing. She tried to figure out the best method for attack.

Edea was casting that Aura spell on Zell now. The minute the spell was done, Zell went rushing towards the Omega Weapon and began attacking one of its two faces with great intensity. Quistis' eyes went wide and she almost told him to be careful, but figured he knew what he was doing. She hoped.

Suddenly, she noticed that she herself was bathed in that orange glow. She looked at Edea and smiled. Edea only nodded before turning her attention to Laguna.

The Omega Weapon lunged forward and attacked Zell with a massive swipe of one of its claws. Zell didn't seem to be too bothered, however. He continued attacking, almost as if nothing happened.

Leon charged forward, almost as if he'd been waiting for an opening, but considering Zell had not stopped, he ran forward anyway and slashed at the Omega Weapon five… six… seven times. Then he ran back out of the way.

The Omega Weapon began casting a spell.

"Barriers!" Edea shouted.

Quistis cast one on herself and threw one around Zell as well, figuring he wasn't going to. She figured Rinoa and Leon would get themselves covered or cover each other. Edea would probably get herself and Laguna. It was a good thing, too. The purply-black fog that engulfed all of them would have probably knocked them all out.

"How did you know that was coming?" Quistis shouted.

"You learn to recognize casting sequences," Edea replied.

Quistis just shook her head and ran forward, getting the Omega Weapon with a couple good cracks of her whip, just as Laguna fired off what felt like half a magazine of bullets from his machine gun. The Omega Weapon charged forward and batted Laguna to the ground, it must have found him more bothersome.

Then, almost immediately, it began casting another spell. As the spell started, Quistis recognized this one herself: Meteor. She hoped her barrier was still good.

When it felt like the world was done falling on them, Rinoa threw up Curagas for everyone. Quistis was grateful. Her barrier had only absorbed some of the damage.

Unfortunately, by the time all the Curagas had finished, the Omega Weapon was charging up for another attack. He stamped his foot into the ground and tongues of fire spread up around all of them. Quistis tried to avoid the fire, but it was no use, the minute the flames neared her, she felt her very strength being sapped from her. She sunk to the ground, though all she wanted to do was to get back up and attack the thing… she'd heard of elemental magics sometimes coming with negative status effects, but she'd never seen one in use before now.

Zell and Leon managed to do the thing that she most very wanted to do. They ran up and attacked him. Quistis almost envied them. She still couldn't manage to stand up.

That is, until Edea threw the Curagas. Quistis harnessed the newfound strength and ran at the Omega Weapon just as Leon was going in for a second round. Quistis hit him several times, but found herself backing away when the Omega Weapon started casting yet another spell.

Some high-level Gravity spell. Quistis couldn't quite think the mechanics through now that her strength was sapped once again.

"You have got to be kidding me!" she heard Rinoa shout. Quistis almost had to laugh as her strength returned with that round of Curagas.

While Rinoa was doing that, Edea cast Meltdown on the Omega Weapon. Laguna took aim and fired. The Omega Weapon swiped at Edea that time. She threw up a small Cure for herself. Rinoa cast a Haste spell on Leon, so he could attack faster. Then she turned around and cast Meteor on the Ultima Weapon.

"Payback," she said, a grin on her face.

The Omega Weapon responded by slashing at all six of them, multiple times. Rinoa turned back around and cast Meteor again as Edea Cured them all of anything that might have come of those physical attacks. Quistis was beginning to like having two heavy-magic users on her side. It made it easier to concentrate on fighting rather than defending.

Everyone ran forward to attack at once as soon as Rinoa's spell was over. Edea and Rinoa stood back, waiting to see what spell they would need to cast next.

The Omega Weapon cast Ultima. Thankfully, Edea was ready with the Curagas as Rinoa sent forward two Meteors back-to-back. That angered the Omega Weapon greatly. He shot out another one of those pillars of light that he'd used to kill all the Heartless. It hit Rinoa square in the chest. She crumpled to the ground.

"No!"

Quistis wasn't quite sure who yelled that, but she figured she might be one of many who did. She and Edea both ran to Rinoa. By the time Quistis got there, Edea was already checking for a pulse. Edea locked eyes with Quistis, relief in her eyes. Quistis breathed her own sigh of relief.

She then heard the most heart-wrenching battle-cry ever. She looked up to see Leon charge forward at the Omega Weapon. He slashed at it again and again. More times than Quistis could count. It must have been more than twenty however. Each hit seemed to do more damage than the last.

Finally, the Omega Weapon fell. As soon as Leon was sure that it was down, he came running over to where Rinoa, Edea, and Quistis were.

"She's fine," Edea insisted, throwing up a Curaga.

Rinoa opened her eyes and sat up. She had barely done that when Leon pulled her into his arms.


	38. Why?

**Author's Note: **This chapter is dedicated to Rand Eric Colvin. Whose short life brought light to everyone he touched and taught us what it means to be a fighter.

I don't usually mention anything more about my life than the drowning in schoolwork or the occasional event that I've gone to. This chapter, however, is dedicated to the memory of a young child. Actually, the whole sequence of Zack's recovery is dedicated to that, but this chapter in particular.

And, um, that's all I have to say.

* * *

_Traverse Town: Zack, Age 18_

The opening of the accessory shop was going greatly. Cid's business was already doing well, and the store had only been open for half a day. Cid went all throughout the shop, answering questions and giving tips. He even asked a few questions of his own to improve business.

Yuffie never stayed put in one place either. She ended up making a few sales of her own, making Cid start muttering about commission.

Aerith drifted around less than the other two. She alternated between being upstairs, adding more charms to individual accessories and then running the register because Cid kept having to interrupt one customer asking questions to check another one out. It was busy.

Zack helped where he could, but he found he was having problems doing so. It had been a week since Olympus Coliseum. In short, he hurt. He was angry, and confused, and hurting.

All he wanted was Angeal to come back, even though he knew that wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. Zack watched him go to the Lifestream himself.

And even then, there were a lot more things he wanted. He wanted the nightmares to stop. He wanted the flashbacks to stop. He wanted the memories of Olympus to just be wiped clear from his mind. But that wasn't going to happen, was it?

He took a moment and leaned back against one of the walls, not caring that the Buster Sword made that motion very uncomfortable. He stared blankly off into space, trying to make the pictures in his eyes go away. When that didn't work, he tried focusing on something. That didn't seem to work either. He closed his eyes shut, the images beating themselves up against his brain.

Fighting Angeal… Heartless-Angeal… The endless barrage of knives… the sword—the very one on his back—piercing his shoulder… watching Angeal become a monster… watching Angeal lay there…

He tried not to cry out, lest he scare away customers. That wouldn't make Cid very happy.

He turned, aiming to make his way to the back door. He couldn't handle this anymore. He needed to be somewhere else, _anywhere else._

Suddenly, there was a small hand in his. Aerith.

She didn't say a word as she quietly led him outside. She sat him down on a bench and knelt down in front of him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, her voice soft.

Zack shook his head, feeling the tears coming back.

Why did they keep coming back? Why couldn't he be strong and get over this? He was supposed to be a hero! He had dreams to embrace and…

And he just hurt.

"I hurt," he whispered. He wanted to shout the words. He wanted all of Traverse Town to know! But he couldn't get his voice to work. The words hissed through his lips, which only made him hurt more.

Aerith took his hands in hers, something she'd been doing a lot lately.

"Why?" Zack whispered. "Why did he have to die?"

Aerith pursed her lips. She never had an answer for him on this question. Yet he kept asking it again and again. It wasn't even like he was trying to get an answer out of Aerith and that's why he kept asking her. He was asking the question to the general universe.

And then there was the question that he hadn't quite got around to asking yet, but was equally, if not more so, important.

"Why did I have to be the one to kill him?" he managed to have a voice for the first half of that sentence, but the second half came out more of a pathetic squeak.

Aerith's eyes went wide as he asked this question. Her response to him was to leap up and throw her arms around him. Something else she'd been doing a lot recently.

"Why?" he asked, through the tears that were now freely falling down his face. "Why did he make me… Why couldn't…"

"I don't know," Aerith whispered back. "I'm sure he had his reasons. But I don't know."

Zack realized that Aerith was crying, too.

"How do you hold it all in the rest of the time?" Zack found himself asking. "You're always so strong…"

"I hold it in because of Yuffie. And Cid. It's not fair to them to always see me break down. Sometimes, sometimes I cry when they're both away and I'm the only one at home. Leon's caught me at it once… back when he was here…" she sniffled.

"I bet that took years of practice," Zack said, his voice shaky.

"I've been doing it since Radiant Garden fell and I lost my mom," Aerith said, shrugging.

"You lost your mom?" Zack asked.

She nodded. "It's what happens when a World gets plunged into darkness," she said, her voice morbid.

Zack didn't know what to say.

"Regardless," Aerith continued. "Grieving in silence isn't necessarily right. Sometimes, I wonder if it would make grieving easier if I could do it out in the open. It's hard to always be strong."

"You don't have to be strong now," Zack said.

"Yes I do," Aerith argued. "You…"

Zack cut her off. "No, you don't have to be strong for me. Not right now. We can grieve together."

Aerith nodded.

"I wish I knew how to make the flashbacks go away," Zack said. "I wish I could stop reliving those—his final moments."

"I don't have a spell for that," Aerith said sadly. "Sorry."

Zack laughed a little. It was a grim and bitter laugh. But it was a laugh.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Aerith said.

"Not here," Zack said.

"Let's go back to the room, then," Aerith said. "I think Yuffie's got enough sense not to follow us."

Zack nodded.

Aerith got to her feet and wiped her eyes. Zack got to his feet as well and wiped his nose on the back of his glove. The two of them made their way into the hotel lobby to go up to the room.

"Aerith, you've got mail!" the desk clerk said.

Aerith smiled and walked over. "Two letters!" she exclaimed, taking them from the man. "Thank you!"

She walked back over to Zack, checking who the letters were from.

She didn't open them however. She held them in one hand as she put her other hand in Zack's. He didn't complain at that gesture as the two of them walked up the stairs up to the rooms. They walked straight into Aerith's room. Aerith set the letters down on the table with the lamp. Zack took off his gloves and threw them down on the bed.

"Aren't you going to read those?" he asked.

"In a bit," she said. "You were going to talk first, and I don't want you to be interrupted."  
Zack snorted. He'd take an interruption or five, if they actually worked. He sat down on the bed and rested his elbows on his knees. He stared at his hands.

"I just… I keep reliving that entire battle, the entire situation! His face, my feelings, what happened… and everything feels like it's intensified a million times over and I just… I'm so sick of feeling like this… I can't even _sleep _to get rid of it! They haunt my dreams. I'm supposed to be some strong hero, with loads of honor, and who can protect anyone, without question! But I couldn't even save my best friend from his own degradation. And then he…"

Zack balled his hands up into fists and wanted to knead his own brain out with them.

"You need to not be so hard on yourself," Aerith said. "And I'm not saying that to invalidate any of your feelings, because your anger and your frustration, your confusion and your hurt are all completely justified. But you need to stop tearing yourself down for not being a good enough hero. Because even heroes have problems that they must overcome."

"How can I protect my honor when I've already killed my best friend?"

"Angeal thinks you still have honor," Aerith said quietly.

Zack sighed. Angeal _had _said that. Twice.

Aerith sat down next to him. "I think you still have honor," she whispered.

Zack grimaced.

"I do, though!" she insisted. "You're having a human reaction to these events and no one actually judges you for it. But you're trying so hard to get better and move on, despite losing your best friend and I think that's quite honorable."  
Zack didn't say anything.

"I hear you at night," Aerith said, her voice low again. "And when you're in the other room, so does Cid. We know how rough it is for you and we just want… the best for you."

"Why, Angeal?" Zack found himself asking.

Aerith sighed. It wasn't an impatient sigh, it was a sad sigh that mirrored Zack's own feelings.

"Distract me," he muttered, flopping back on the bed, only just missing the wall. "Please?"

Aerith nodded and went over to get the mail.

"This one's from your parents," she said, opening the envelope. "Hmm, there's a letter in here for both of us!"

She walked over and handed Zack his letter. He opened it and scanned through the words as Aerith read her own letter. His mom mentioned Angeal a couple of times and it broke Zack's heart just to read the name. He would have to explain that to them, probably. He couldn't hide it, there was no way he was going to be able to manage it. They also wanted to meet Aerith. That he supposed he could manage.

Aerith finished her letter, smiling. Zack watched her walk back over to the table and pick up the other letter. It was from Leon. Zack recognized his handwriting. Aerith got enough letters from him. Though, from what he'd gathered, there had been more of a delay between each letter from Leon, which probably meant that the arrival of this letter was a good thing. Aerith could use some good news…

"I think, perhaps, we should go visit your parents," Aerith said, sitting down next to Zack as she opened the letter from Leon. "They do want us to come for dinner."

"How did you…?" Zack began, then he realized that his parents probably mentioned dinner to Aerith as well, knowing that in doing so, they'd commit Zack to actually bringing her. Well then.

"Yeah, we should," he said.

"Soon?" Aerith asked. "Or later?"

"I…" Zack began. "I dunno. I've been thinking about maybe going off and travelling for a bit. As much as I love it here… I need to be out and moving. I can't…"

"You can't be cooped up," Aerith finished. "I know. Will you be all right?"

Zack shrugged. "I don't think I'll be any worse out there than I will be here." He put his hands under his head and stared blankly up at the ceiling. "Tell you what," he said after a moment. "I'll stay here for another week, then I'll take you to dinner with my family, I'll bring you back here, and then I'll go off on my own. I promise I'll be careful and everything. It's not the first time…"

Zack stopped. He was rambling and Aerith wasn't really paying any attention.

"Aerith?" he asked, sitting up. "What is it?"

Aerith was staring at the letter in her hands, a look of horror on her face.

"What…?" Zack said.

She merely shook her head and placed the letter in his hands. Frowning, Zack turned his attention to Leon's letter. Leon was straight to the point and got the bad news out of the way first. But that bad news tainted the rest of the letter, even though Leon ended it completely normally.

"It's just," Aerith said, shaking her head. "He's always so certain that everything will work out. Not once over the past two years has he mentioned that he may not write anymore. He says it may be a while, but never that this might be the last one."

"Let's go help him then," Zack said. A battle might be nice. Particularly a battle against someone who was most certainly evil, right?

"I don't think your star shard can time travel, can it?" Aerith mused.

"Oh, no," Zack said, remembering the part in Leon's letter about the end of time. "Right."  
"There's nothing I can do but pray and send good thoughts," Aerith said.

"That's certainly something though," Zack said.

She nodded.

"He'll be fine," Zack said. "Like you said, he always is."

She drew in a shuddering breath and let it out slowly.

Zack put an arm around her.

"I don't like today," she said.

Zack shook his head, agreeing with her. "I don't either."

The two of them sat there in silence for several moments. Thankfully, no images flashed across Zack's eyes. All he could think about was Aerith sitting next to him and Leon off who-knows-where-and-when fighting bad people.

"A week, and then dinner with your parents?" Aerith asked quietly.

Zack nodded. "Yeah. Exactly that."


	39. Ultimecia Battle

**Author's Note: **Do I have anything immediate to say about this one? Nope, I don't think I do. Coolio. Enjoy!

* * *

_End of Time: Leon, Age 19_

Leon wasn't sure what came over him, but the minute he saw Rinoa crumple to the ground, he was filled with anger and power. He attacked the monster until it died. Then he went running over to Rinoa and was very, _very _thankful that she was okay. Edea and Quistis got her up and Leon held her close.

"Come on," Zell called, interrupting them. "We should get moving while there aren't any Heartless!"

Zell was right. Leon stood up and helped Rinoa to her feet. Then he helped Edea as well. Quistis was brushing herself off.

"I'm good," Rinoa insisted. "Let's go."

Leon nodded curtly and started running, not even bothering to put his gunblade away. It would waste time both now and later.

There were no more Heartless outside the castle, which was nice at least. They got into the castle with no problems, but were faced with some more haggard Heartless inside. Thankfully not as many, however.

As they worked on this batch of Heartless, Quistis asked where they would be going next.

"We need to go up," Edea replied. "And over that way." She pointed to her right.

So they started heading up and over, occasionally having to pause and fight more Heartless. Nothing bigger stopped them.

As they neared wherever it was that Edea said they needed to be going, the Heartless grew less and less, making their progress almost too easy. Leon grew very skeptical of the whole situation.

"Like the calm before the storm," Rinoa mused, voicing his own thoughts.

Then they were standing in front of two very large doors.

"I'm going to assume this is probably a throne room?" Quistis mused. "We are in a castle, are we not?"

"I'm sure you're right," Edea said. "I just know that this is where we need to be. She's in there, can't you feel it?"

This last question was directed entirely at Rinoa, who merely nodded.

"Everyone ready?" Laguna asked. "I'm pretty sure this is the point of no return."

"Ready!" Zell announced.

"Ready," Edea said with a nod.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Rinoa muttered.

Quistis just nodded.

Leon went and opened the door. There was a small part of him that just wanted to get this all over with. So that's what he was going to do.

The six of them walked into Ultimecia's throne room. She sat on her throne, which was suspended up in the air. Ultimecia wasn't giant like Adel was. Leon couldn't figure an exact height because she was sitting down and a good story above everyone else. But he figured she was fairly tall. Her wings were ragged and black, draped out to either side of her. He half-wondered if she could use them to fly like Rinoa could. She had strange markings on her face and horns. Leon snorted, that resemblance to Maleficent was, if nothing else, amusing.

"I see you have found me," she said. "I was so klose to kreating khaos in the World and you have stopped me. Kurse you all!" She continued to sit as she spewed curses out on all of them. "Insolent fools! Your vain krusade to stop me ends here! The price for your meddling is death beyond death. I shall send you to a dimension beyond your imagining. And in that dimension, I will reign, and you will be my slaves for all eternity!" She stood up and flexed her wings. "Who shall I exterminate first?"

She flew down to the ground. Obviously her wings still worked. She cast a spell that Leon was fairly certain nobody recognized. All he knew was that he suddenly felt weaker. He gritted his teeth and tried to run at her.

Edea threw up a few Curagas for the group, and suddenly, Leon had the strength to run forward. Unfortunately, Ultimecia didn't let him get that far. She cast Quake, causing the whole ground beneath them all to shake and stir. Leon could hardly keep his footing. Rinoa jumped over it all and cast Tornado on Ultimecia. Edea summoned Bahamut. Leon wasn't sure if physical attacks were the best thing right now, so he just cast Firaga on her instead. Rinoa cast Meltdown and Edea cast Meteor.

Ultimecia returned those spells with some ugly spell of her own. Green goop appeared beneath everyone's feet and Leon could feel it sucking everyone's energy away. Rinoa, not being on the ground, didn't get the effects of that, so she was able to cast Flare almost immediately afterward and had no problems doing so.

Laguna aimed his machine gun and fired. Quistis cast Quetzalcoatl. Zell ran up and started punching her. Taking that as a cue to get close, Leon ran forward and slashed at her. Rinoa cast Flare and then Holy in quick succession.

Ultimecia staggered backwards. "The most powerful Guardian Force," she shouted. "You shall _suffer!_" Then she laughed a horrible, ear-piercing laugh.

She summoned a Guardian Force of her own. This one looked like a lion with giant wings. It was really quite the Guardian Force, as far as Leon was concerned. Ultimecia backed away and it became really clear that they would have to attack this Guardian Force before they could even touch Ultimecia again.

Zell summoned his own Guardian Force, Ifrit, which attacked Ultimecia's Guardian Force without qualm. Laguna summoned Doomtrain on top of it.

The thing swiped at Zell and managed to hit both him and Laguna. They both backed up.

"Its name is Griever!" Quistis called out.

Leon frowned, wondering how she'd even figured that out. But he decided he didn't care. So what if its name was Griever? Its name could have been Shad for all he cared and he'd still want to attack it.

Edea cast that Aura spell on Zell again. Leon figured it was probably because Zell could use the extra strength in his punches. Not that fighting with fists was bad, Zell could just use the strength when it came to fighting so up close and personal.

Rinoa summoned Eden, probably to get a break from magic-casting herself. If Leon had been paying enough attention, she'd been casting a lot of high-level spells that dealt mega-damage. Edea cast Aura on Leon as well. Grateful for the boost in power, he launched himself at the Guardian Force, Griever, was it? and landed five good hits before he backed down.

Zell was looking pretty worn-out, so Leon cast a Cure for him.

"Thanks!" Zell said, nodding.

Leon nodded back. The Cure wasn't much, but he didn't have any Curas and there was no way he could manage a Curaga right now. Maybe Rinoa or Edea would notice and help him.

Griever cast a spell on Laguna. Leon watched it go. He couldn't tell what the spell was and knew he should brush up on that sort of thing. What he did know, was that Laguna seemed to be staggering. That couldn't be good…

Rinoa threw up three Curagas at once: one for Leon, one for Zell, and one for Laguna. Zell seemed to be doing much better, but Laguna was still holding one of his sides. Rinoa bit her lip and cast another spell. Esuna. Leon recognized that one. Laguna stood up straight and gave her a thumbs-up. She nodded at him and turned her attention elsewhere.

Zell went back to punching Griever. Laguna started firing. Leon ran over there again to get him with his blade. Quistis came forward with her whip. After a bit, they all backed away. Edea did a round of Curagas and Rinoa cast three Meteors in quick succession. Edea then cast three Flares. Rinoa cast three Holys. Edea cast three Ultimas. It almost looked like they were trying to outdo each other, but it was actually just a function of them trying to get rid of the Guardian Force as fast as they could.

Ultimecia's voice rang out: "The Guardian Force's true power. Allow me, to show you! Griever! Make them bleed!"

Go figure, its name _was_ Griever.

Suddenly, they were all surrounded by white balls of light and they were lifted high in the air. Leon locked eyes with Rinoa. To his relief, she didn't look scared, just annoyed. Leon turned his attention back to Griever. The balls suddenly disappeared and they were all falling. Rinoa was the only one with the benefit of wings. Leon cast a barrier up around himself to lessen the damage. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea. Except no one got a barrier around Laguna in time, and Leon was fairly certain he probably couldn't do that spell himself. He fell and Leon heard the crack of several bones. On the bright side, he was still alive, on the down side, he wasn't going to be that great of a shot. Leon felt a little bad for him, but he couldn't spend too much grief—Ultimecia was still around.

"I shall junction myself unto Griever!" she shouted.

In a burst of purple light, Griever's form morphed into something larger and more ugly. Its body seemed to outgrow the wings. Ultimecia was attached near its throat. Leon wrinkled his nose.

Laguna fired off a few shots and Leon was honestly impressed. But then Laguna fell backwards, no longer able to sit. Edea ran over to him, casting Curaga as she went.

Zell wasted no time in running forward and beginning to punch and kick the Ultimecia-Griever combination. Quistis sent another Curaga Laguna's way. Rinoa cast Meltdown on the new(ish) enemy.

Leon started charging Ultimecia-Griever, but halfway there felt his energy drain. It wasn't like he was down below normal, but the spell Edea had cast on him must have worn off. Or Ultimecia had gotten rid of it. Zell was backing away from the creature too. Leon looked around. Quistis was busy with something. Rinoa was casting… Rinoa was casting Aura. Leon felt the power rush through him again and returned to his attack.

He slashed at Ultimecia-Griever eight times. It almost felt like he was doing it in slow motion. But he relished in the power. He backed off to let Zell do his thing, since Rinoa had just cast Aura on him as well. Leon took survey of the battle. Quistis was watching Zell, prepping what looked to be a Curing spell. Edea was over tending to Laguna. Was she trying to reset his bones or something? Rinoa was glaring at Ultimecia-Griever, probably waiting for Zell to get out of the way so she could cast some powerful magic.

Sure enough, as soon as Zell was out of the way, Rinoa cast three Meteors and then three Flares. Then three Blizzagas. Leon smiled. Blizzaga seemed to be such a random spell, but it did also seem to do a lot of damage. No one was going to complain about that. The Griever part of the junction howled in pain.

Quistis cast three Curagas in a row. One on Rinoa, one on Zell, and one on Leon. She and Rinoa exchanged a quick glance. Leon understood what had just gone on. Quistis would take care of the healing magic. Rinoa should focus on the heavy damage-dealing magic.

Rinoa did just that. She cast three more Meteors and then an Ultima. Suddenly, Griever began to fade and disappear. The rest of them stood there looking at each other, wondering if they'd managed to get rid of Ultimecia as well.

The answer was no. Out of nowhere, it seemed, Ultimecia stood up. She was now about as tall as Adel had been. She also looked like she was half-monster. Leon guessed that was probably because she had Junctioned herself to a Guardian Force.

"I am Ultimecia," she hissed. "Time shall kompress. All existence will be denied in the ensuing khaos!"

Nearly immediately, she raised her arms and the ground seemed to be on fire. Leon could feel yet more energy draining from him. But it wasn't like earlier, like it had been when the Aura had faded away. This time, it was that, plus all of his usual strength.

"No!" Edea screamed. She threw up Curagas for everyone. Leon had a second where he wondered what had happened to Laguna. But he didn't have time to think about that. Zell caught his eye and with no more but a second's worth of an exchanged glance, the two of them went running to attack Ultimecia again. They timed their attacks well, so that way they wouldn't interfere with each other's. Somewhere in there, Rinoa cast Aura on the pair of them again, making their attacks stronger and quicker. Then, as soon as they got out of the way, she cast Meltdown.

Ultimecia used that nasty attack again to drain everyone's strength. Leon didn't care that he didn't feel very strong. By using adrenaline alone, he attacked Ultimecia again. Zell seemed to have the same idea. Quistis started Curing them all. Leon and Zell kept at it. When they finally backed away, Rinoa was ready with three Meteors in a row.

Ultimecia responded with that attack _again_. Leon pushed himself with adrenaline and slashed at her eight times, followed by a gigantic, circular attack that added to the damage. Zell didn't join him that time. Quistis Cured him and Rinoa. Rinoa was hardly hanging on, either. Leon grimaced.

This time, Ultimecia cast Holy. Leon found it so odd that someone so full of darkness could cast such a light-based spell. And then she followed it with her other attack. Leon turned to look at the others. No one was standing. Anger and adrenaline both coursing through his veins, Leon cast three Cures in Rinoa's direction. She stood up. He took one look at her and nodded. This was it. They had to do it now or they weren't going to last much longer. She cast Aura on him once more.

He turned to look at Ultimecia. He grimaced at her appearance and charged at her for one last time. He hit her seven times then backed away for half a second. He held up his blade and noticed that it was charging with light. Smiling a little, he brought it down on Ultimecia. At the same time, Rinoa cast probably three Holys in a row. She seemed to like the number three.

Leon backed away and watched Ultimecia quiver and shake. Leon watched the power leech out of her. He turned back around to see Rinoa land daintily on the ground, arms outstretched, waiting for the power. Leon had to shield his eyes at the resounding blast of light. The powers went straight into her. Then she fell forward. Leon ran over to her, figuring she'd just collapsed like she had done the last couple of times.

However, then Rinoa stood up and her eyes flashed red.

Leon swore.


	40. Tainted Mako

**Author's Note: **Let's see... do I have anything to say? Oh, yes, yes I do. Ya'll should check out the trailers and such for the KH 2.5 release and the KH3 gameplay graphics trailer. Yeah! Other than that, I have nothing else to say.

* * *

En Route from Nibelheim: Tifa, Age 15

Tifa only ran into a few monsters here and there as she headed out. Some were pretty standard monsters that she was used to seeing around Nibelheim, others were those black ones with the yellow eyes—Heartless, they were called. It didn't matter to her, however, she killed them all in kind.

She'd been on the road for a couple of days now. She'd forced her father to come home from work the night before she left. It was almost as if he was avoiding coming home for dinner in order to prevent her from leaving. That didn't work. The two of them had dinner and she told him goodbye. He'd made a big deal about thinking she shouldn't go, not because he would miss her or anything, but he told her it wasn't appropriate. To which she had listened, but hadn't taken any of it to heart.

The following morning, she'd gone to Mrs. Strife's place and had a wonderful breakfast, not unlike the one Cloud'd had before he'd left. Mrs. Strife was supportive in all the ways Tifa's own father was not. Mrs. Strife'd encouraged Tifa to find whatever it was she was looking for, whether it be Cloud or purely adventure. She'd cautioned her to be careful and gave her loads of food.

Tifa was still eating on that food and had stuff for several more days. The stuff wouldn't keep forever, though. So the next town Tifa stopped in, she would probably buy more food and just add it to her stockpile and keep going. She didn't mind lugging around food. Food was kind of a necessity.

She was heading to Gongaga. She really just needed to get to Midgar. However, she didn't feel like hiking either of the mountains that would get her to Rocket Town or North Corel. So Gongaga it was. She was hoping once she was there, she'd be able to find transportation to Midgar, which was her eventual destination.

She wondered what Cloud had done. He was probably stubborn and had hiked one of the mountains. It wasn't like people from Nibelheim were new to mountains, not in the slightest. But when it was honestly easier to go around them, despite it taking nearly three times as long…

Tifa sighed. It didn't matter. It wasn't like she was going to be able to retrace Cloud's steps and catch up to him. She would need to just go out there and go places and hope she ran into him on the way.

She hadn't heard from him since the day he left, despite having written him countless letters, he never replied to one of them. Had he just never gotten them? Or had he purposefully not responded? Tifa wanted to believe it was the first.

Some monsters appeared. They were the fire-bomb things that also seemed to hang around Mt. Nibel. Tifa wrinkled her nose. These were more annoying than Heartless. Well, most Heartless anyway. Tifa hit one a couple of times and then rolled out of the way of the ensuing blast of Firaga. She hit it a couple more times and groaned as it got bigger. She punched it one more time and it died. Thankfully.

The second one had already grown by the time she got to it. She knew it was a self-defense mechanism of theirs, but it was annoying nonetheless. She punched it a couple of times before running and ducking for cover. It self-destructed. Tifa covered her head and looked back. No fire-bombs. Just some… munny! Yes! She ran over and scooped it up. Then she continued on her way.

It was growing dark and Tifa knew she should stop soon. By the time the sun went down, she should have a fire going in order to deter most monsters. Emphasis on most. Obviously, fire didn't bother bombs. However, fire was very useful for keeping Heartless away. And Tifa definitely didn't want to be dealing with Heartless at night. It was practically their element.

Figuring this place was as good as any, she dropped her pack and grabbed some sticks for a fire. She got a fire started and pulled out some dried meat to roast over it. The meat was so well-preserved thanks to Mrs. Strife that it didn't technically matter if she cooked it or not. But it certainly tasted better when she cooked it. She ate the stuff all dried out during the day, but at night this was a treat. Tifa took stock of what she had left in her pack and determined that she would have enough to get to Gongaga. Though, if it was really bad, she could make the half a day's detour to Cosmo Canyon. That was only two days from where she was. Less if she picked up her pace and didn't run into too many monsters.

Tifa looked up. There was a shadow that wasn't normal. She spun around, fists already bared. The shadow belonged to a man wearing a red cape. He wasn't armed, but that meant nothing to Tifa.

"Who are you?" she asked, keeping her voice level.

"Just a traveler, like you," he replied.

Tifa lowered her fists an inch. "You aren't trying to trick me, are you?" she asked.

The man held out his hands in a peace gesture. "I saw your fire and thought it pointless to make my own when you've already got one going."

Tifa still wasn't entirely convinced.

"Well, traveler, I've only got enough food for myself. So if you're expecting me to share…"

"No need," the man said. He reached into his own pack and pulled out some food of his own. "To be honest, I'd really just appreciate the company. I don't require your assistance with anything, nor am I trying to overpower you and leave you to the Wutai thieves."

"What would Wutai thieves be doing all the way over here?" Tifa asked. "Their business is with Shinra."

"If you haven't noticed," the man said, a twinge of a smile showing on his face. "Shinra is all over this planet."

"Obviously I have nothing to do with Shinra, however," Tifa said. "I'm just a country girl, on my way to…"

Tifa paused. She was on her way to Midgar, one of the cities with the heaviest Shinra influences, if she thought about it that way. Sure, she didn't plan on _staying _in Midgar. She just figured it'd be her best bet for tracking down Cloud, right? He had (unfortunately) said something about SOLDIER.

"You smell of tainted Mako," the man said. "You grew up near a reactor, did you not?"

"Hasn't everybody?" Tifa asked. As far as she could tell, there was a Mako reactor in every major town and most minor ones.

The man only shrugged. "It's not wise to be out travelling alone."

"Are you saying this because I'm a girl?" Tifa asked defensively.

The man shook his head. "I'd be telling this to anyone alone on the road."

"Have you told it to anyone else?" Tifa asked. Maybe he had seen Cloud!

But the man shook his head. Tifa sighed.

"There was one boy, once," the man said. Tifa raised an eyebrow, not daring to get her hopes up again that fast. "He was a young kid," the man continued. "Black hair and eyes that shone with Mako. But he didn't stop long enough for me to tell him anything."

Tifa sighed again. Not Cloud. Cloud was definitely blond.

"I'm Vincent, by the way," the man said. "I never introduced myself."

"Tifa," she said.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Mm-hmm."

The two travelers sat in silence for a while, eating their food. The only sound was the crackling fire. As Tifa added more wood, Vincent spoke again.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "You never did finish that sentence."

"Well, I'm actually heading to Gongaga," Tifa said, deciding it was best to not mention Midgar right now. Mako and Wutai and… yeah.

Vincent did not ask why, for which Tifa was incredibly grateful. Because then she'd have to either make up an excuse or explain Midgar anyway.

"What about you?" she asked instead, to get the attention off of her.

"Nowhere in particular. Just, around."

"Alone?" Tifa asked.

He nodded.

"And you tell other people not to travel alone," Tifa scoffed.

He smirked. "I have ways of travelling that don't involve me being on the road for long periods of time." The way he said it made Tifa question whether or not she wanted to know more details about his methods of travel. But she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Especially because, at that very moment, Tifa heard rustling nearby. Looking right at Vincent, she grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it on the fire, dousing the flames.

"Wutai," Vincent hissed.

"Maybe if we're quiet, they'll pass us by?" Tifa whispered.

Her heart was pounding. She hadn't run into anybody on the road until Vincent! And now she had to run into Wutai people who may or may not be friendly?

Vincent shook his head. Tifa could barely see the outline of his figure in the dark.

"It's not safe here," he said. "We must leave…"

"But…" Tifa began.

"Pack your things. Come on."

Tifa did as she was told. She was hardly sure that going with Vincent would be any better than staying here where Wutai spies would find her, but somehow, Vincent seemed safer.

Once she had her bag, she turned back to Vincent.

"Which way?" she asked. She hoped they'd at least be able to continue in the direction of Gongaga. She wasn't sure she could afford to double-back.

Vincent held out the edge of his cape. Tifa looked at him skeptically. Going against just about every sense of self-preservation she ever had, she walked closer to Vincent.

With a twirl of the cape, she felt herself literally whisked away.

His way of travel had to have magic in it somewhere. There was no other explanation for it otherwise. But what kind of magic, Tifa was unsure. Magic outside of materia was rare, if not unheard of.

Suddenly, they were standing outside a town. Tifa didn't recognize it.

"Where…?" she began.

"Gongaga," Vincent replied.

"But, how?"

Vincent smirked.

Tifa looked at him, both shocked and grateful.

"Thank you," she said.

Vincent smiled and nodded.

"I should repay you somehow," Tifa said. He _had _just saved her _days'_ worth of travel.

"Don't," Vincent said. "Consider it a favor. Keep care of yourself."

Tifa nodded. She walked into the town.

Gongaga was lively for it being after dark. There were plenty of people outside talking and gossiping. There were kids running in the streets and couples meandering about. It reminded her a bit of Nibelheim. Small-town country life, for sure.

She licked her lips and tried to see if she could find an inn. She could stay there for the night, then go to the market tomorrow and buy more food. Then maybe see about transportation to Midgar.

However, finding an inn seemed to be a bit hard to do. She figured she was probably in the wrong area of town. Sighing, she figured she'd best ask.

Of course, now that she was looking for someone, no one seemed to be around. Not even children running amok. How had she managed to do that? Was she in the business district?

She heard voices and spun around. She almost laughed when she saw the couple that was obviously out for an evening stroll. Then she did a double-take. The boy had black hair and blue eyes that were certainly Mako-stained. She almost wondered if this was the boy Vincent had been talking about? Probably not, that would be too much of a coincidence.

The girl he was with was dressed in pink and had her hair held up in a braid with a matching pink ribbon. The two seemed nice enough, though they were very absorbed in each other. But if she didn't ask them, Tifa wasn't sure who she was going to ask.

"Um, excuse me," she said hesitantly as she approached them.

"Yeah?" the boy said.

"I'm, um, travelling, and I was wondering where the inn was?"

The boy smiled and laughed. "It's two streets over, how about we walk you there?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to…"

"Nonsense!" the boy insisted. "It's no bother. Me an' Aerith don't mind?" He looked at the girl, Aerith, for confirmation. She shook her head as well.

"Thanks," Tifa said, sheepishly.

"No prob. Come on, this way. My name's Zack."

"Tifa," Tifa said.

"Pleasure! What brings you to Gongaga?"

"I'm just travelling. Trying to find my friend…"

"What's he look like? I may have seen him."

"Really?" Tifa asked, eyes wide. "He's got blond spikey hair and he's got a sword, at least he did when he left home."

Sadly, Zack shook his head. "Sorry, Tifa. I haven't seen him."

She sighed. "Oh well."

"I hope you find him!" Zack encouraged.

"Me too."

By then, they had reached the inn. Zack and Aerith went so far as to walk her in. Tifa thanked them both and bid them a good night. She told herself she shouldn't be too upset that no one had seen Cloud. The chances of it were highly unlikely anyway. She should stop getting her hopes up. But, if she did that, then how would she have the drive to keep going?


	41. Everlasting Darkness

**Author's Note: **Hey-o! Nothing much to say here but enjoy! Oh! Wait, I lied. There are blogs on literally every chapter on my blog. Many of them have Review Responses, but the ones recently haven't been because I either don't have anything to respond to, or it gets responded to in the blog itself. All the same, if there's something you feel that I haven't answered, send me a PM here or leave a comment on the blog and I'll totally respond in some way (even if it's to tell you that the answer is spoilers :P). Now THAT, is all. Enjoy!

* * *

_End of Time: Leon, Age 19_

Leon looked around, trying to see if anyone else was up. He knew they weren't. He looked back at Rinoa and knew he couldn't do this one on his own. There was just so much darkness. He needed… he needed Edea, but she was too far away.

He sent three Cures to Quistis, praying it would be enough.

Quistis groaned.

"I need your help here," he said.

She sat up and straightened her glasses. She looked between Leon and Rinoa and threw up a Cura for herself.

"You're going to have to attack the darkness out of her…" Quistis said.

"I…" Leon stammered. "I know."

Rinoa slowly floated up above them. Leon and Quistis bared their weapons. Rinoa raised her hand above her head.

"Flare," Quistis warned.

Leon put up a barrier. So did Quistis. Rinoa still cast the spell. Most of the damage was absorbed by the barriers.

"Not sure how I'm supposed to attack her if she's up there," Leon said. "When I fought Adel, she didn't fly…"

Quistis shot Leon a look that looked almost sympathetic. As it was, Leon was thinking about if he'd have to continue fighting Rinoa like this forever, or if it was just because of Ultimecia that this was going on now. Perhaps when Ultimecia was gone for good, this would stop. He sure hoped so.

"You use magic," Quistis said. "And then when she falters…"

Leon frowned. He took note of the throne room's interior. "Or I jump really, really well."

"Or that."

"Do what you need to do," Quistis said. "I'll make sure you're both Cured enough."

Leon looked skeptically at her.

"Curing her isn't going to make it harder to get rid of the darkness. If anything, it'll make it easier. We have to worry more about the darkness causing the Cures to not work."

Leon licked his lips. "Right."

"Go," Quistis insisted.

Leon nodded and ran at one of the walls. He ran up part of the wall and then spun around. He aimed for Rinoa, trying to pretend that it was still Ultimecia, that he was fighting only the darkness. That it wasn't actually Rinoa that he was fighting…

He got three swipes before gravity took over.

Rinoa didn't say anything. She just prepped another spell. At the fizzling electricity, Leon could tell that this one was Thundaga. His barrier had weakened with the Flare, however, and didn't absorb as much of the magic as Leon would have hoped. He also noticed that it wasn't just regular Thundaga, but Dark Thundaga.

He gritted his teeth as he waited for the electricity to pass. Quistis cast Blizzara and a giant spire of ice shot up and pierced Rinoa, knocking her to the ground. Leon ran over and got in a few more slashes before she dragged herself to her feet and took flight once more.

Once in the air, Rinoa cast Meteor. Leon put up a barrier just in time, halving the damage he took. He hoped Quistis fared similarly.

As soon as the barrage was over, Quistis was ready with a Fira. The cone of fire surrounded Rinoa and she staggered in the air. However, she did not fall that time. Quistis frowned and followed that spell up with Thundara. That spell didn't seem to make a dent, either.

Rinoa was also not close enough for Leon to use the wall trick, either. He concentrated for a moment, prepping a Blizzard spell. The icicle formed above Rinoa's head and as it fell, it dragged her down with it. Leon ran forward to attack. So did Quistis.

Rinoa shook them off. Her eyes were still red and angry-looking. The darkness was leaving visible marks on her skin. Leon swallowed. Quistis cast a Cura on Rinoa. However, rather than watching the usual effects of Cura, Leon watched the magic fizzle out at the hands of the darkness.

"We will have to pin her down and force her to take a potion," Quistis said.

But Rinoa was already hovering over by the throne, nowhere near either of them. She cast Meltdown, but Leon and Quistis dodged out of the way.

"I'm going to cast Reflect on myself," Quistis said. "Anything that either of you cast on me will go to her."

"Will that fix our Curing problem?" Leon asked.

"No. The darkness will still prevent that."

Leon groaned.

Rinoa didn't notice or hear that Quistis was going to do that. However, she learned very quickly when a Dark Firaga came back at her. She cast a Dark Blizzaga at Leon, but he was thankfully able to avoid it.

She targeted her next attack on Leon as well. He watched as the ground around him was suddenly full of sigils drawn out of light. Five lights slowly came from the ground until they were poised above his head. No matter which way he ran, the now giant ball of light was directly over him.

Then the light came down faster than Leon could really see it. It pierced him like fire and lightning both. His insides were searing with pain. He staggered to his feet, trying to be able to see straight, but it felt like his brain was mush…

Another light hovered above him. A healing light. The pain subsided and he could think straight again. He grabbed his gunblade and turned his attention back to Rinoa.

Quistis cast another Thundara at her, not that it did any good. Rinoa seemed to have a particular weakness to Blizzard magic, why couldn't Quistis see it?

Unless she was saving those for later…

Rinoa dove at Leon, her wings close to her body. Leon wasn't quite sure what she was intending to do with that, but he got her good as she flew past. He knocked her to the ground, even. He attacked her again and again, hoping that the darkness would subside.

She wrestled herself away from him and flew back up. However, Leon noticed that she wasn't flying as high. He tried not to see all the blood that she was covered in. He couldn't even pretend that the blood was someone else's. It was definitely hers and most of it was his fault. He grimaced. He needed to stop thinking like that.

"Pitiful," she spat.

Leon looked at her in shock. This was the first time she had spoken. However, it was not Rinoa talking. Not the Rinoa _he _knew.

"What?" he asked, though he knew exactly what she had said.

"I said you were pitiful," she sneered. "Weren't you listening?"

"Why are we pitiful?" he asked.

"Trying to get rid of a darkness this great! She was pitiful when she took it in and tried to fight it. You two are pitiful for trying to stop it. Even now, the darkness consumes her from the inside out. You can fight it all you want, but there is no way you will win. You will help destroy this very body before you win."

"What are you?"

"Darkness incarnate!" were the words coming out of Rinoa's mouth. Then she (it) laughed. Leon's blood roiled at the sound.

He launched himself at her, blade bared. He got her five times. She flew higher each time, but he managed to keep up with her and knock her once more to the ground. To his immense relief, Quistis was there with a potion. He knelt over Rinoa and held her down as Quistis forced the bottle to Rinoa's lips.

The healing effects were almost immediate. Some of the wounds closed and stopped bleeding, which made Rinoa a lot easier to look at. Though, it still pained Leon to see her like this. He needed to get rid of the darkness.

Rinoa writhed away. The second half of the potion fell to the ground. It spilled out, completely useless. Leon looked at it in horror.

"How many more chances like that do you think we've got?" Leon asked Quistis.

"Not many," she said grimly.

"How many more potions do you have?"

"Five."

"Well, then we've got five more chances to get her body healed," Leon said. "Which means I've got that long to get rid of this darkness."

Quistis sighed.

Neither of them were paying attention to Rinoa. Which meant that while they were talking, she was able to cast Flare without them noticing. The blast hit them full-on. Leon hardly had the time to feel the pain before Quistis had sent Curagas up for them both. However, Quistis' Reflect was still in effect, which bounced her Curaga back at Rinoa. The darkness ate that, too.

Quistis swore. "Habit," she muttered. She fished out another potion.

"How come your Reflect reflected the Curaga back, but not the Flare?" Leon asked.

"Some spells cannot be reflected," Quistis said grimly. "Apparently Flare is one of them. Which doesn't help me much."

She was struggling with the cork for the potion bottle.

"Oh, here," Leon said, digging in his own pocket. "Save that one for when I've got Rinoa down again. Use one of mine, there's no way I can do both at the same time."

However, the bottle he pulled out was not a potion. It was a mega-potion. He and Quistis both looked at it almost in awe.

"I forgot I had this," he whispered. "Aerith sent it."

Mega-potions healed every person on the battlefield who the drinker considered an ally. Leon considered Rinoa an ally, just not the darkness inside of her. Which would mean that…

He uncorked the bottle and chugged it down. Sure, it was useless on him after Quistis' Curaga. But he watched as the look of pain on Quistis' face faded. He watched from a distance as more of Rinoa's wounds closed up.

The darkness inside of Rinoa hissed.

"How dare you!"

Leon laughed and chucked the bottle away.

"I believe Rinoa's still in there," he shouted. "And that I can save her!"

Rinoa growled and dove at Leon again. Ready for her, he caught her mid-air and threw her to the ground again. He pinned her down, being more forceful this time.

"Do you hear that?" he said, looking her in the face. "I believe in Rinoa. I believe that she can overcome the darkness that is inside of her. I am Rinoa's Knight! And I will save her! No matter what! I swore that I would never let her stay possessed, which means you have to go!"

Rinoa looked at him in shock, but Leon knew the darkness was still there. Her eyes were still red and the darkness-marks on her face and arms were still there.

"Lies!" she spat. "I am everlasting darkness! You cannot be rid of me! We are at the end of time, I will reign eternal!"

Leon noticed something about the marks the darkness was leaving: they were fainter. Whether it was the battle or the mega-potion, the darkness was losing its grip on her. But the darkness didn't want Leon and Quistis to realize that it was losing its grip. It was going to hold on until someone died, and it didn't particularly care who, so long as someone died.

Unless the darkness itself died. Leon was pretty sure that that wasn't possible, but there was a chance he could rid Rinoa of the darkness. He just needed to keep fighting.

Rinoa writhed out of his grasp again. The darkness was fighting back hard. And, if Leon was completely honest with himself, he expected nothing less.

He launched himself at Rinoa again, knowing the mega-potion had bought him more time. He wished Aerith had sent him more of those. And though she hadn't, he was going to make the one she had sent be worth it. And then he was going to tell her how worth it that thing was.

He attacked Rinoa. With each swipe of his blade, she flew higher and higher. But as if he was defying gravity himself, he managed to stay up with her each time. He attacked again and again. Orange light surrounded him and he knew Quistis was giving him that much more help. He used the boost of energy to continue at it. He felt the power and light surround him and allowed himself to fall gently back to the ground so that his blade could be charged with light. Once it was, he brought the blade down. And though Rinoa was not within reach of the blade itself, the surrounding light still got her.

Simultaneously, Quistis sent out a blast of Holy. Leon would have been shocked, because he had no idea Quistis even knew how to do that spell, however, he didn't have the chance nor the time.

Both attacks hit Rinoa full-on. The resounding scream was downright awful to listen to. She fell to the ground and Leon dove to catch her. He barely managed to, both of them skidding several feet along the cobblestone.

Rinoa groaned.

"Cura!" Leon shouted.

There was no darkness to eat the healing magic. The Cura took full effect and Leon breathed a sigh of relief. That was comforting.

"Rinoa?" he asked.

"Squall?" she coughed, opening her eyes.

He grinned and hugged her tight.

"I rescued you again," he said, the corners of his mouth threatening to smile.

She laughed. "So I see." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. I'll try to be better in the future."

Leon laughed.


	42. Wishes and Wants

**Author's Note: **Yo, everyone! Happy, simple chapter for you guys! Enjoy!

* * *

_Traverse Town: Aerith, Age 17_

Aerith sat at the table. She was trying to gain some interest in the book she'd checked out from the library, but she couldn't seem to concentrate on it. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere. If not several elsewheres at once.

It had been two weeks since going to Gongaga and having dinner with Zack's parents. The two were such a lovely couple and they were very proud of Zack. They were devastated to hear of Angeal's passing and Aerith was almost afraid she'd have to ward off one of Zack's panic-attacks. However, Zack had a good public face about it and expressed to her later that he was feeling a little better about the whole thing. By the time they'd gone out walking, he was back to his old self. He even insisted on helping some poor travelling girl find the inn to stay for the night. (Aerith had half-expected him to invite her to his parents' house so she could stay the night for free.)

However, after that night, he'd brought her back to Traverse Town and had told her that he needed to get out and about. Aerith almost went with him. But she knew she couldn't leave Yuffie and Cid. There was no way. Not with the amounts of Heartless being inconsistent and Yuffie being as young as she was. Perhaps in a year or two.

Of course, things could look a lot different in a year or two. Just looking back on the past two years showed Aerith how much things had changed.

It had also been three weeks since she'd last heard from Leon. She didn't like that. Three weeks ago, he'd said he'd have to go fight a big, evil Sorceress. She didn't like that she hadn't heard from him. She was nearly positive he wasn't dead, but wasn't really sure about anything else.

She sent some good thoughts his way.

She went back to her book, but set it down when she realized she'd read the same sentence six times through. She sighed and went to the little kitchenette. She needed to make a grocery list for tomorrow anyway. She took Cid's list for materials for his Accessory Shop and set it on the counter, revealing a clean piece of paper.

_Milk… eggs (if she could find them)… some sort of vegetable or two… meat? (if it wasn't too expensive)… bread, lots and lots of bread… Yuffie wanted juice… Cid needed more teabags… _

Aerith should also see if she could pick up any herbs that might be useful in brewing potions. Last month, before Zack had shown up, she'd literally stumbled upon a mega-potion. Rather than see who she should return it to, she'd just taken it, knowing how expensive they were. She'd then promptly sent it to Leon, figuring he needed it more. But that had given her the idea about potentially making her own potions. Surely brewing her own would be cheaper than buying them from the Item Shop. Perhaps she could even brew potions and then trade them in for hi-potions?

Aerith was finding that she had a lot of spare time when Zack wasn't around. Even with keeping track of Yuffie and dealing with Heartless extermination, and then cooking and cleaning and stuff, she still found that she had several hours a day of downtime.

Sure, she could read. But… if she could brew potions!

Granted, the last time she'd even _used _a potion was when Zack had last shown up. But that was a major healing job. Potions came in handy when she needed to focus her magic on other things. And ethers… ethers were a godsend!

If she could figure out how to make _ethers_! Oh, the possibilities.

She would look into that tomorrow. Tomorrow was as good a day as any. And it wasn't like she could do anything about it now. The market was all closed down. The only two shops still open in town were the Item Shop, which boasted all-day hours to accommodate travelers at any time; and Cid's Accessory Shop. Cid kept that place open as late as he could stay awake in order to make more munny. He was looking to hire some help to keep it open all the time, but the revenue from the shop hadn't quite provided that much extra just yet.

Cid swore it would only be a matter of time.

Aerith had helped with the shop when it opened, but over the last week or two, the Traverse Town regulars had all gotten over the novelty of it and only dropped in as often as the occasional traveler. Cid told Aerith and Yuffie to both scram and do something productive with their lives. When Cid was the only person in the place, Aerith knew he researched, so it wasn't like he was doing anything terribly different with his days.

Her list made, Aerith thought about perhaps just going to bed. She could get up early and go to the market then, considering Yuffie did not have school that day. She could maybe even be home before Yuffie got up and maybe the two of them could go do something. It had been a while since they had done that. Before Zack's last visit.

Deciding that was what her plan was, she started for the bedroom that she and Yuffie shared. She stopped on the way to look out the big front window. She thought she'd heard something stirring…

What she saw was a vast amount of Heartless in the street below and no one out there to take care of it. Which meant that she should.

She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her staff from beside the door. She rushed outside and down, casting a Firaga as she went. The more she could get rid of before she actually got down there, the better.

They were just purebloods, as Cid had taken to calling them. The pure black ones with the big yellow eyes. They lacked any other color and more notably, the "emblem" of the Heartless. Emblem Heartless showed up periodically. Cid assumed that someone was manufacturing them, but Aerith couldn't fathom who. Who would want to do such a thing? Who even had an understanding of such a thing?

Aerith had an understanding of dark magic, but not dark beings. She knew no more about Heartless than she did any other monster. She knew what their weaknesses were and what she needed to do to keep them from being pests. That was all.

As she whacked a couple with her staff, she wondered for a moment if she should have woken Yuffie. Yuffie always enjoyed a good fight against some Heartless. However, Yuffie had gone to bed over an hour ago, and if Aerith woke her now, it would be at least another hour before she went _back _to bed, because she'd be wide awake. Aerith had every intention of going to bed as soon as these Heartless were taken care of.

But the Heartless didn't want to be taken care of. More and more kept appearing. Aerith sighed. It wasn't like this was more than she was used to, or more than any one area of Traverse Town had spewed out at any given time. It's just, the last time this had happened, she'd had Zack to help her. The last _several _times, she'd had Zack to help her. And Cid. But Cid was still at work and definitely in the First District out of her shouting range.

She grunted as she whacked yet another one. She cast the first spell that came to mind: Thundaga. That was effective enough. She cast a Blizzaga, too, for good measure.

There were still a lot of Heartless. This was frustrating, to say the least.

She didn't want to use any bigger magics. She was already tired as it was.

But the thought was tempting to just do a good Pearl and get rid of a good portion of them at once.

Aerith refrained. Mostly because she remembered that she didn't have her jacket on, which meant that she didn't have pockets, and thus didn't have ethers. She was better off using smaller magics just in case she needed to Cure suddenly.

And the Heartless still came. What was going on?

Aerith wished that Zack were here. Though, his appearance would be highly unlikely. He'd only been gone a week and he was just _itching_ to go. Aerith knew he loved her and all, but sometimes he just needed fresh new air to clear his head. And after everything that had happened with Angeal, Aerith didn't want to keep him from that one bit. Though, she _had _told him to find a new travelling buddy. Someone to keep his head out of the clouds… and his nightmares.

Aerith went to attack one Heartless, but it disappeared into a pool in the ground. Darn. Neoshadows. They were best attacked first with Stop, and then with something to follow that to kill them. But again, there was that lack of ethers…

"Yahoo!" someone shouted. Aerith ducked and turned around, just in time to back away from an incoming spear.

"Oh c'mon, Aerith! Ya know I wasn' gonna hit'cha…"

Aerith giggled. She'd wished for Zack and had gotten a Cid. The help was welcome, nonetheless.

"Close up early, Cid?" she asked, attacking the now-distracted Neoshadow.

"Naw, closed up righ' on schedule. Was walkin' home and saw this pickle. Figured yeh coul' use a hand."

"Oh, yes please!" Aerith said.

So Cid and Aerith started working together against the Heartless.

"Goodness, there's a lot of them," Aerith mused as yet another drove appeared.

"I was readin' somethin' that said that when a World falls inteh darkness, Heartless start appearin' on all the Worlds that's left."

"Oh, how horrible," Aerith gasped.

Cid just shrugged and threw his spear at another Neoshadow. Unfortunately, the Neoshadow disappeared in the nick of time and Cid's spear went clattering to the ground.

"Damn," he muttered.

Aerith thought about chiding him, but figured that since Yuffie wasn't around, it didn't really matter. Aerith wasn't particularly offended by that word. And it was an appropriate word for the Heartless.

After what seemed like several minutes, they finally got rid of all the Heartless.

"We shoul' do a round," Cid said. "Jus' in case."

Aerith nodded. "You don't happen to have any ethers on you though, do you?"

Cid frowned and dug in his pockets.

"Aha! Two of 'em! Some kid came in wanting some aerial tech panel and he didn't have enough munny, so I made him fork up some ethers instead."

Aerith wasn't sure if that was a fair trade, but she was grateful for the ethers.

"You out?" Cid asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Forgot to grab my jacket," Aerith said. "I grabbed my staff, but not my jacket when I saw the first slew of Heartless."

"Ah."

The two of them made their way through Second District, heading into the Third. Sure enough, more Heartless appeared, in more numbers than usual.

"I'm beginning to wonder if your Heartless and Worlds theory is correct," Aerith mused.

"No way to prove it, unless we know of any World tha's fallen."

Aerith shook her head. Not for sure, anyway. She doubted she could be sure of that sort of thing. Not without someone else telling her, or if she witnessed it again herself.

She prayed that never happened.

Cid tossed Aerith one of the ethers and she replenished her magic gratefully. Then the two of them set to work on the Heartless.

"Yeh know," Cid muttered. "Sometimes, I wish I could wield a weapon that was more attuned to killin' more than jus' one of these at a time…"

"Magic," Aerith said.

"Yah, I know, I know. Yeh keep tellin' me tha'."

Aerith wished again that Zack would join them. Despite the large amount of Heartless giving Aerith and Cid both problems, this would be a cinch for Zack. That, or Leon. But she wanted Leon to show up for more reason than one. And she wouldn't expect him to be up to fighting Heartless right after what he'd undoubtedly had just gone through.

Assuming he made it.

He _had _to make it.

Suddenly, she heard the distinctive sound of a star shard.

"No way," she muttered.

She looked up and saw a person materialize in mid-air. Zack!

"Well, that's unexpected," he muttered. "I was aiming for… not this district…"

It took him a second to figure out exactly what was going on, but Aerith watched him process both her and Cid, as well as the Heartless. Before he'd even touched the ground, he had his sword out and was slashing at the Heartless. He was getting better at his landings.

_Now if only Leon would show up… _Aerith thought to herself.

"Hey, I was jus' thinkin' about'cha," Cid said. "Wishin' for yer sword."

"What about my sword?" Zack called, not stopping the Heartless extermination as he talked.

"Jus' a bigger weapon for killin' more of these at once."

"Ah," Zack said. "Uh, magic?"

Aerith suppressed a giggle. Cid grumbled.

"Hello," she called.

"Hiya!" Zack replied. "Sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I figured, you know, Heartless…"

"Oh, no, I get it," Aerith said. She cast Thundaga. "I totally get it."

Zack joined Aerith and Cid on the rounds, making the whole job go twice as fast. Aerith was happy to see Zack smiling. He lived for battle sometimes, she thought. But she loved him all the same.

When they finally made it back to the hotel, Yuffie was up waiting for them. She glared at Aerith and Cid both (Zack having gotten a room of his own) like she was the parent and they were the children. Even after explaining that they were dealing with Heartless, she moped that she had been left out.

Cid rolled his eyes and left Aerith to deal with it. Not in the mood to deal with any nonsense, Aerith just went to bed, leaving Yuffie nothing to do but go to bed as well.


	43. Sorceress Power

**Author's Note: **Bet you're dying to figure out what's going on at the end of time! Well, here you have it!

* * *

_End of Time: Rinoa, Age 19_

Rinoa and Squall sat there for what felt like quite some time but was probably only a matter of seconds. Rinoa found Squall's embrace to be comforting, it was certainly nice to know that everything was going to be okay.

Because everything was going to be okay. They'd gotten rid of Ultimecia and Squall and Quistis both had gotten rid of the darkness that had come after.

Rinoa could feel the increased power going through her. That raw power, just itching to be used. Rinoa wasn't even sure what she was going to do with it. When they got back to their own time, she should figure it out.

That begged the question of when and how were they going to get to their own time? Perhaps Rinoa held the key…

Rinoa looked around and noticed Quistis standing not too far off, awkwardly trying not to intrude on the moment that Squall and Rinoa were having.

"Is that it?" she asked. "How are we supposed to get home?"

"I'm not sure," Quistis said.

"Right, I'll see if I think of anything."

"We should probably go check on the others," Squall suggested.

"Good idea," Quistis agreed.

Squall and Rinoa got up and went with Quistis to where the others were. They came to Zell first, who was just waking up.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We won," Squall said simply.

Zell smiled and got up. He joined the others in finding Edea and Laguna. They were together. Edea was already awake as well and tending to Laguna's injuries.

"Edea," Quistis began. "You don't happen to know how we're supposed to get back, do you? We never discussed what would happen if we won, only everything that could go wrong if we didn't."

Edea nodded. "I'm aware of that. My apologies. Does anyone still have a star shard on them?"

Squall frowned and pulled it out of his pocket. "Will it work?"

Edea took it out of his hands. "With the appropriate direction, yes. I think I can get us back to when we belong. Everyone gather close. Link arms, yes?"

Everyone did so and Rinoa found that Edea had made it very clear that she needed to be next to Rinoa.

"You're the one with all the powers, dear," Edea said. "Help me on this."

"How?" Rinoa asked.

"Will it."

So, Rinoa began 'willing' things. She 'willed' them back home. She thought of Timber, but then realized that she should probably be thinking of Balamb Garden. So she thought of Balamb Garden, and all the people there. Headmaster Cid, the people in the library, the people she ran into in the cafeteria. She thought about everything as it had been the last time she'd been at Balamb Garden.

She closed her eyes so she could think more about it. She wanted them to go back… to be back. She, as well as all of the people with her. Once they were there, they could figure everything else out… Nothing mattered now except getting home…

xx

_Time Compression: Edea_

Edea didn't know what all had happened from the point at which she had lost consciousness and the point at which she regained it again. What she did know, was that Ultimecia was gone and all was quiet. She looked around but all she could see was Laguna—still injured. She figured she should start with that and once she got him to a point where he could at least hobble, she'd go look for the kids. She couldn't in good conscious just leave Laguna there.

So she set to work.

She was in the middle of re-setting one of the bones in his legs when everyone else found her. That made things much more convenient.

Then Quistis asked her how they were supposed to get back.

Edea was almost positive she knew a way. It would take all of her previous Sorceress knowledge, remembering much of what had gone on when Ultimecia was possessing her, and Rinoa's current raw power to do it, along with one of those star shard things. But Edea was nearly positive it would work.

She took the star shard from Leon and held it in her hands. When they linked arms, she was positive that she ended up next to Rinoa. It didn't matter who was on her other side, but Rinoa needed to be on one of them. It would make power channeling easier. She ended up linking her other arm through Laguna's arm. She was then thankful when Quistis was nice enough to link her arm through Laguna's other arm. Edea didn't want to leave anyone behind.

Edea told Rinoa to will them back home. She, herself, began willing the same thing. She clutched the star shard tight in her hands, willing it to do some of the work. Most of the work would actually be Rinoa—Sorceresses did have the power of teleportation. And they needed to get through not just space, but time. But with the star shard and Rinoa working together, this was possible.

Edea pictured Balamb Garden. She pictured Cid and the students, and the gardens. She pictured the library, the office, the room she shared with Cid when she visited. She trailed off in thought for a moment, thinking about how she might be able to stay in Balamb Garden more often now. It was just a thought…

She felt Rinoa's powers and Rinoa's willing and fed off of that. Between Edea's knowledge and Rinoa's raw power, they were making this work.

Then she felt the interference. Edea's eyes shot open as she tried to figure out who or what was interfering. They had succeeded in vanquishing Ultimecia, Edea could feel Ultimecia's powers coursing through Rinoa. So what was interfereing?

Darkness.

The darkness that had surrounded Ultimecia, the very same darkness that had affected Edea herself when she was possessed by Ultimecia, was not quite gone. In fact, it was angry and vengeful. It did not take kindly to their attempts of destruction. So now it was rearing its ugly head again.

The darkness surrounded Leon. It grabbed at him, trying to pull him away. Probably trying to pull them all away, but he was the one it started with.

"Keep willing, Rinoa!" Edea shouted.

Maybe they could outrun it. But as Edea felt them moving, she felt Leon sliding out of their grasp.

This was not good.

xx

_Sliver in the End of Time: Leon, Age 19_

Leon wasn't entirely sure if this was going to work. But Edea was sure that it would. So he went along with it. He linked arms with Rinoa and Zell. The six of them sat in a circle, arms entwined, as Edea and Rinoa willed them to go home.

The initial idea seemed a little bonkers, but then again, star shards functioned on someone basically wishing to be somewhere else. So maybe it wasn't that bonkers after all.

Leon tried his best to think about Balamb Garden, rather than Traverse Town. He figured that just about everyone else was thinking about Balamb Garden, or maybe Esthar, or perhaps Centra… but those at least were all on the same World. Traverse Town was its own World and Leon didn't want to mess this up in the slightest because he called someplace else home.

Not that he was sure his thoughts had any affect. He wasn't holding the star shard.

Then he felt something pulling at him. And it wasn't a normal pull, like what happened with a star shard. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out what it was. But he saw nothing but darkness.

"Squall!" he heard Rinoa call.

But he couldn't open his mouth to speak. The darkness clawed at him, dragging him down. That's what it felt like. He tried to wriggle free, but the darkness held on tight.

Suddenly, he could move. But he still couldn't see anything. It was all black.

_Where am I_? he thought. He started running, despite being able to see, but he didn't appear to be going anywhere. He stopped and looked around, but to no avail. Darkness as black as ever surrounded him.

_Am, I alone? If I call out, will they hear me? Can I even call out?_

"Where is everyone?" he shouted. "Rinoa! Where are you? Zell! Quistis! Edea! Father! Rinoa!"

_Rinoa, I want to hear your voice!_

Which way should he even go? Could he get back alone? He started running again, but still he didn't go anywhere.

Suddenly, there was light again. Or, sort of. Rather than blackness, everything was grey. It stretched on forever. Leon looked around, but nothing looked right. The ground was all cracked and barren, the sky was all warped and watery-looking, despite still being the sky. Leon started walking… and walking… and walking. Nothing changed. Everything still looked the same. He wasn't even sure if he was actually going anywhere, but he had to keep walking. He would go mad if he didn't

He might go mad even if he did.

Then he came to a cliff. He turned around to go back, but as he did, he realized that he was on a sliver of land in the middle of nowhere. Literally, nowhere. He sat down, no longer able to keep going. There wasn't even anywhere to go.

Everything began to spin. Then, a single, white feather drifted down from the sky. Leon put out his hand to catch it. He held it in his hand. It reminded him of someone.

Someone… that he knew… That he loved…

But he couldn't picture her face. He tried again, and again, to picture her… but nothing worked. He couldn't recall her face. What was happening to him? He could remember other things… but not her. What was so important about her? Or was she not important? Was that why he was forgetting? But he shouldn't be forgetting anything… why was he forgetting?

He threw back his head in agony.

xx

_Present Time: Quistis, Age 20_

"Squall!" Rinoa screamed. "Squall! Where are you?"

Quistis turned her head to the side. She didn't have an answer. No one did.

Only five of them made it back to Balamb Garden. They appeared just outside, safe and sound. Except Leon.

Quistis had watched in horror as darkness itself grabbed on to Leon and yanked him back as everyone else came back home.

"There's nothing you can do," Edea insisted. "There's nothing…"

"You're wrong!" Rinoa shouted. "I have all this power! What do you mean there is nothing I can do?"

"He's gone!" Edea insisted. "That time is gone! We destroyed it! There's nothing left there to exist! We've changed that future! At best, he's in time-limbo."

"I can get to him!"

"Rinoa," Quistis said. "I think Edea is right."

Rinoa looked at her, her face a mix of shock, horror, and outright disgust.

"I'm sorry," Quistis continued. "Especially because I was rooting for the two of you."

Rinoa shook her head. "No. This can't be the end. I have to be able to get him."

The pain in Rinoa's voice was almost unbearable to listen to.

"He came and rescued me once! And he's saved my life again and again! I can't just leave him there to die! Or be stuck forever!"

"Rinoa," Edea said. "It's already too late."

"We were messing with time," Rinoa said. "It can _not _be too late if I go to a time where he _is _still alive."

"You can't change the past!" Quistis said. This was something she knew to be true. She'd been talking with Ellone, who had apparently _tried _to change the past, only to realize that it wasn't possible.

"It's not the past if it hasn't happened yet," Rinoa insisted.

Edea looked at Quistis. Quistis didn't know what to say. She'd never really dealt with emotional people before. SeeDs were often very reserved. Besides, even if she had dealt with emotional people before, Rinoa was beyond what was considered normal circumstances.

"I can go to him," Rinoa insisted.

"Rinoa, it's not safe… it could fail!" Edea said.

"Which is exactly what we said about fighting Ultimecia!"

"We all came to terms with the fact that someone might not survive that," Quistis said.

"_I _didn't!" Rinoa screeched. "If anyone wasn't supposed to survive, it was supposed to be me! _I _was the one that could have been killed with the influx of power. _I _was the one that could have been consumed by that darkness. But you and Squall saved me. And now I need to save him!"

"Rinoa, you don't know where you are going!" Edea said.

"Yes I do. I'm going to Squall."

"Rinoa!" Edea warned.

But there was no more trying to talk her out of it. Rinoa's mind was set. She was going to try and rescue Leon. Rinoa raised her arms up into the air over her head. Her wings spread out to their entire breadth. Rinoa muttered something under her breath. She slammed her arms down against her sides and was gone.


	44. Has a Heart Still

**Author's Note: **Woo! More Cloud! Enjoy!

* * *

_Realm of Darkness: Cloud, Age 16_

Cloud wandered through the darkness, wondering why he even bothered anymore. It didn't matter how much he put one foot in front of another, he still didn't seem to end up anywhere different.

He couldn't even say how long he'd been travelling. It felt like forever. But he could distantly remember a time before this. So it couldn't have been forever. But it was definitely for a very long time.

He wasn't really bothered by any of the monsters, which was good. It left him more time to think about the things that were important to him. Adventuring. Maybe getting out of here. His mom. Tifa. Getting a new sword. Things like that.

He found that if he thought about those things consistently, he couldn't forget them. So he was sure to always be thinking about the things he didn't want to forget.

And that's how he passed his days/weeks/months/however long it was. He found that he never grew hungry, or really tired, either. Both of these were probably good things. He hadn't had food since he first wound up here, and he had yet to see anything that looked like sustenance. And it was a good thing he didn't need to sleep, either, because he wasn't sure if he would forget stuff when he was asleep. There was no way to know, and he didn't want to find out.

He was afraid of forgetting. And that was what he was most afraid of. He couldn't bear the thought of forgetting.

So he kept walking. And he kept forcing himself to remember things.

There was really only one other thing he was afraid of, but he wasn't even afraid of it as much as he was afraid of forgetting. That was because this was something that he couldn't quite pin down. But there was something inside of him that he didn't remember being there before. A feeling that he couldn't describe. It wasn't anger, it wasn't hate, it wasn't resentment, it wasn't sadness, or malice. But, at the same time, it certainly wasn't anything happy, either.

Yet every time he tried to concentrate on whatever it was, he couldn't. It was like it was something in the corner of his eye, but every time he turned to see it fully, it disappeared. It was just like that.

So, Cloud kept walking.

Then, he saw something different. He came to an opening in the path. He walked past some large rocks and found that the ground beneath his feet changed. Rather than walking on the tough, rocky substance that he'd been walking on for the past… ever… he felt the squish and crunch of sand beneath his feet.

He knelt down and picked some up, he ran it through his gloved hands. Then he took off his gloves and ran it through his bare hands. It was such a novel sensation after so long. He stood back up and slid his gloves back on his hands. He looked beyond him and almost cried at the beautiful sight. He was on a beach. It wasn't a very big beach, there were lots of rocks and otherwise rock-formations that would prevent this from becoming a vacation spot of any sort, but there was a small beach with some good rocks to sit on. Cloud went over to the water's edge. He took of his gloves once more and felt the water. It was real. It was cool and had a refreshing feeling to it. Cloud wasn't even sure what to do with it all.

Then he remembered that he should be forcing himself not to forget things. He put his gloves back on and went to sit on one of the rocks. He would spend some time remembering things and then maybe he could play in the water later. There wasn't any rush of any sort. He had all the time in the Worlds, it seemed.

He was startled by the sound of something. It was a new sound and one that didn't seem to belong here. Lately, all he could hear were the sound of his own footsteps and the sounds of Heartless scurrying around and trying to find the darkest corners possible. Then there had been the sound of the waves… but this was new.

Cloud looked from side to side and was shocked to see another person there! And how had they gotten there? They were walking from a direction that there was nothing but rock formations. Had they climbed through them?

"Well, lookey here," the person said. It was a man. Cloud hadn't been able to tell before. He was wearing a cloak that covered virtually every inch of skin. The hood was pulled up so that really all Cloud could see was blackness, though surely some of that was the lack of light around here.

"I didn't expect to find a person here," the man continued. "How'd you get here, kid?"

Cloud looked back at the man, eyes wide, unsure of how to answer.

"Uh…" he began.

"You don't know, do you?"

Cloud eventually just shook his head.

"Figured as much." The man took down his hood to reveal a scarred face and an eye patch. Aside from that, the man had salt-and-pepper hair tied back in a ponytail and a golden eye. Cloud couldn't help but be wary of him. He pursed his lips.

"Well, come on then," the man said. "Let's get you out of here."

Cloud frowned. He wasn't sure if he wanted to trust this man. This man who came out of nowhere and was pretending he understood what Cloud was doing here. How could this man know when Cloud didn't even know himself?  
But maybe this man could tell him something. Maybe Cloud could get out of here. Cloud stood up, warily.

"Name's Xigbar," the man said. "Let's get you to the Superior. You're not the one he's looking for, but you'll certainly do."

"What do you mean, 'do'?" Cloud asked, finding his voice.

"No sense worrying about it," Xigbar said. "Trust me. Just come on."

The man held out his hand and a swirling pillar of darkness formed. It looked like a doorway. It made the same noise as the one Cloud had heard earlier. This must have been how the man had gotten here.

"You coming, kid?" Xigbar asked.

Cloud frowned thinking. He wasn't sure what was going to be on the other side of that doorway. However it couldn't be as bad as it was here. Though, the beach was a nice change, but he wouldn't be able to stay at the beach forever.

Finding his resolve, Cloud walked over and stepped through the door.

He was blinded by the light on the other side. He was standing in a white room, surrounded by white pillars. Upon closer examination, the pillars turned out to be giant chairs. Some of the chairs were occupied. Most were not. There were men sitting on either side of him, one had flaming red hair, the other had blue hair. Then there was a boy who looked Cloud's age, if not younger with hair that hung in his face, and a large man with reddish-brown hair. And another large man with dreadlocks.

"You're late," the man with dreadlocks said.

"As if," Xigbar retorted. "Vexen's still out, too, from the looks of things. Still doing rounds on Twilight Town. Man am I glad I don't have to do rounds there. They take _forever_!"

"I see you found someone," said the young one.

"Yes I did," Xigbar said proudly. "And this makes three that I've found and none that any of you have found."

"The girl is not yet a Nobody," said the one with the reddish-brown hair.

"The Boss doesn't send us on those missions," piped in the one with the flaming red hair.

Xigbar just rolled his eyes.

Cloud watched this banter with interest. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but it was amusing. However, he was a bit worried that he was the 'someone' that Xigbar had found.

Suddenly, he heard that noise again. The door opened literally in one of the seats as a man with long blonde hair appeared in it, already sitting.

"How was Twilight Town, Vexen?" asked the young one.

"Empty of any Nobody of interest. Just some Dusks."

There were murmurs of disappointment, but that was all.

One more time, Cloud heard that sound. Again, someone appeared in a seat. It was the seat right next to the man with the dreadlocks. The seat on the other side of him remained empty. Perhaps Xigbar was supposed to sit there.

Cloud realized then that all these men were wearing those black cloaks. He wasn't sure how he hadn't registered it before, it was so obvious. What was different about this newest appearance, was that his hood was still up.

"Found someone," Xigbar said.

The newcomer, directly in front of Cloud, took off his hood. He had darker skin than the others, and golden eyes like Xigbar did. He had silvery-white hair that looked odd on a man of his age. He also wore an amused, conniving smirk on his face. Cloud decided he didn't like him one bit.

"This one is of no use to us," he said. His voice was lower than Cloud expected it to be. It was also commanding and a bit dehumanizing.

"What do you mean?" Xigbar asked.

Cloud wasn't sure which one was better, to be useful, or not.

"He still has a heart."

"How can you tell?"

"I can see his emotions on his face."

"I dunno, he looks pretty blank to me. Blank and confused. Just like the last two were."

Cloud saw the one with the flaming red hair complain a little. He pounded his hand on the armrest, an indignant look on his face.

"They did not have emotions any more than we did, but rather shadows of emotions that once were."

Cloud was so confused.

"Well, whatever," Xigbar said. "What should I do?"

"Take him to some World," the man said. "Leave him there. I'm sure he'll forget about this."

"Pity you can't just do the thing with the Keyblade," Xigbar muttered.

Cloud wasn't sure anyone else heard. He got the feeling that the man with the yellow eyes might have, but he couldn't be sure. The man had a completely composed face that was unreadable to probably just about everyone in the room. Cloud also wondered what the heck a 'Keyblade' was.

"Anything else?" Xigbar asked, looking back up at the man.

"That is all."

There was a cacophony of those darkness doors being opened as people disappeared right out of their seats. The last person to leave was the man with the yellow eyes. He sat there for a moment, his chin resting in his hands, an intrigued look on his face. Then he, too, disappeared.

"All right kid, let's get you out of here."

Cloud wasn't sure what to say. He felt like he should ask to go somewhere specifically, but he wasn't sure where to ask to go, or even if this man would honor such a request. Cloud would be lucky if Xigbar didn't take him right back to that beach he found him on.

Cloud also wanted to know what the heck had just happened, but he wasn't sure how to even phrase that question into words.

Xigbar opened one of those doors and waited for Cloud to step through before following himself.

This place was technically brighter than the last. But rather than the all-white room, Cloud was faced with green grass, a dirt road, and a blue sky that seemed to stretch on forever.

"Here ya go, kid. I suppose I'll just let you be. You probably won't see me again."

"What…?" Cloud began.

"Don't be asking questions. I might have to make you forget the answers."

Cloud gulped.

"Where are we?" Cloud asked. He didn't recognize this World.

Xigbar shrugged. "How should I know? The Superior told me to take you away. So I did. I figured it best to leave you someplace that not too many people would be noticing."

Cloud's stomach twisted into a knot. After leaving the beach, he suddenly realized just how much he missed people and wanted human contact. If there weren't any people nearby, how was he supposed to get anywhere?

"Now, don't go trying to follow me," Xigbar said. "That would be bad."

As if to make it more of a pain to follow him, Xigbar formed the door around himself, like the people had in that white room. There was no way Cloud could have followed.

Not that he didn't try. He still ran to try and catch Xigbar before he disappeared, but all he was left with was a small dark tendril in his hand that disappeared shortly afterward.

Cloud looked all around him. There was nothing in sight aside from the grass and the sky. He gulped and made his way over to the path.

He might as well start walking.

As he walked, he thought about all the things he was trying not to forget. Adventuring. His mom. Tifa. Getting a new sword. Maybe getting a new motorcycle, so he could keep travelling. He couldn't be stuck on this World forever.

But what if he was? The green stretched on forever.

He was reminded almost of the plains outside of Midgar. But the grass here was greener than he remembered it. And the dirt road seemed different. It was all just different.

Cloud kept walking. It was easier to walk here than it was in the darkness. However, now he could feel himself growing tired, and perhaps a little bit hungry. He had no food, but there were plenty of places to rest. The grass looked so comfortable…

But he wanted to keep walking so that maybe he would find food.

Also, there was this feeling that something was watching him, but every time he turned around, all he saw was blue sky and the grass he had just passed. His thoughts also kept wandering back to everything that he had ever felt sad about. Everything that he'd ever been in pain about. Everything that he'd ever doubted. He didn't like it.


End file.
